KR20230111512A - Smart nic-based packet processing acceleration and its operation automation system in cloud computing environment - Google Patents

Abstract

A packet processing offload system for network virtualization is disclosed. A host system according to an embodiment is connected to at least one network interface card, provides a virtual switch function for a virtual machine, and includes an update agent that controls a procedure for offloading at least a part of any one of a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system to the network interface card, a storage for storing logic data and rule data corresponding to the network interfacing function, and a NIC driver that supports offloading of logic data and rule data.

Description

SmartNIC-BASED PACKET PROCESSING ACCELERATION AND ITS OPERATION AUTOMATION SYSTEM IN CLOUD COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT}

The following embodiments relate to SmartNIC-based packet processing acceleration and its operation automation system in a cloud computing environment, and specifically to a host system that is connected to at least one network interface card (NIC) and provides a virtual switch function for a virtual machine (VM).

Virtualization technology is a technology for using one physical resource as a plurality of resources, and network virtualization among them means that one physical network is operated as a logical overlay network in which several different types of protocols are operated. As the size of data and network traffic increase, and the demand for cloud services increases and decreases, there is a demand for the development of network virtualization technology to solve problems related to the network packet processing load of the host's CPU and efficiently utilize network infrastructure resources.

In order to reduce the load of network processing of the host system through the following embodiments, a technique for offloading an interfacing function related to packet processing to the NIC may be provided.

In addition, an operation automation system for changing a function of a new version or a new function to a number of NICs capable of offloading may be provided.

Through the following embodiments, it is possible to provide a technology for offloading various interfacing functions according to custom logic without hardware change using a programmable NIC.

However, the technical challenges are not limited to the above-described technical challenges, and other technical challenges may exist.

The host system according to one side is connected to at least one network interface card (NIC), and the host system providing a virtual switch function for a virtual machine (VM) includes: an update agent that controls a procedure for offloading at least a part of any one network interfacing function among a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system to the network interface card; a storage for storing logic data and rule data corresponding to the network interfacing function; and a NIC driver supporting offloading of the logic data and the rule data, wherein the update agent receives a control packet instructing to offload any one of the plurality of network interfacing functions to the network interface card by using the NIC driver, converts an operation mode of the network interface card into an update mode in which a logic for offloading any one of the network interfacing functions is distributed to the network interface card, and at least a portion of the rule data stored in the storage and the logic Data is distributed to the network interface card, and an operation mode of the network interface card is switched to an offload mode based on the distributed logic data.

The network interface card may include programmable logic elements to perform any of the offloaded network interfacing functions.

The network interface card may perform an operation of processing a received packet based on at least a part of the rule data and the logic data.

The logic data may include customized logic corresponding to any one network interfacing function.

The update mode may include a basic mode in which no logic is performed to offload any of the network interfacing functions to the network interface card.

The network interface card may support a plurality of pipelines, and the update mode may include a pipelining mode in which a new offload function corresponding to the control packet is distributed using a second pipeline while maintaining an existing offload function performed before receiving the control packet by using a first pipeline of the plurality of pipelines.

In the pipelined mode, the update agent may control the network interface card to operate through the first pipeline while distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is in progress, and control the network interface card to operate through the second pipeline when distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is completed.

The update agent may distribute the new offload function to the first pipeline while the new offload function is being performed through the second pipeline.

When the update agent is distributed to the network interface card, if logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function indicated by the control packet is not stored in the storage, logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function may be downloaded from an external storage based on the control packet.

When distributing to the network interface card, the update agent compares a network interfacing function preset in the network interface card with a network interfacing function indicated by the control packet, and determines whether to distribute at least a part of the rule data and the logic data to the network interface card.

The network interfacing functions may include functions that process network packets based on predetermined rules.

When distributing to the network interface card, the update agent may modify the NIC driver based on the network interfacing function indicated by the control packet.

Rule data stored in the network interface card may include rules set to forward the control packet to the update agent.

The control packet may be forwarded to the update agent through the network interface card according to the rule.

The control packet may be distinguished from the data packet based on at least one of a physical port through which the packet is received and a logical identifier included in the packet.

The control packet may include a packet transmitted through the undercloud network.

The data packets may include packets transmitted over the overcloud network.

An operation method of an update agent for controlling a procedure for offloading at least a part of a network interfacing function driven by a host system to a network interface card, comprising: receiving a control packet instructing to offload any one network interfacing function among a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system to the network interface card; switching the operating mode of the network interface card to an update mode that distributes logic to the network interface card for offloading any one of the network interfacing functions; distributing at least a portion of rule data and logic data stored in storage of the host system to the network interface card; and converting an operation mode of the network interface card to an offload mode based on the distributed logic data.

The host system may be connected to at least one network interface card (NIC), provide a virtual switch function for a virtual machine (VM), store logic data and rule data corresponding to the network interface function, and may include a NIC driver supporting offloading of the logic data and the rule data.

The network interface card may include programmable logic elements to perform any of the offloaded network interfacing functions.

The network interface card may perform an operation of processing a received packet based on at least a part of the rule data and the logic data.

The logic data may include customized logic corresponding to any one network interfacing function.

The update mode may include a basic mode in which no logic is performed to offload any of the network interfacing functions to the network interface card.

The network interface card may support a plurality of pipelines, and the update mode may include a pipelining mode in which a new offload function corresponding to the control packet is distributed using a second pipeline while maintaining an existing offload function performed before receiving the control packet by using a first pipeline of the plurality of pipelines.

The switching to the update mode may include controlling the network interface card to operate through the first pipeline while distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is in progress. The switching to the offload mode may include controlling the network interface card to operate through the second pipeline when distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is completed.

The operation method of the update agent may further include distributing the new offload function to the first pipeline while the new offload function is being performed through the second pipeline.

The distributing to the network interface card may include downloading logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function from an external storage based on the control packet when logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function indicated by the control packet is not stored in the storage.

The distributing to the network interface card may include comparing a network interfacing function preset in the network interface card with a network interfacing function indicated by the control packet, and determining whether to distribute at least a part of the rule data and the logic data to the network interface card.

The network interfacing functions may include functions that process network packets based on predetermined rules.

Rule data stored in the network interface card may include rules set to forward the control packet to the update agent.

The control packet may be forwarded to the update agent through the network interface card according to the rule.

The control packet may be distinguished from the data packet based on at least one of a physical port through which the packet is received and a logical identifier included in the packet.

1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a computer system supporting offload for network virtualization according to an embodiment.
2 is an operation flowchart of an update agent according to an embodiment.
3 is a diagram illustrating a specific structure of a computer system supporting offload for network virtualization according to an embodiment.
4 is an operational flow diagram of an update process of a NIC according to an embodiment.
5 is an operational flowchart of a process for controlling an offload procedure according to an update of a NIC according to an embodiment.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments are disclosed for illustrative purposes only, and may be changed and implemented in various forms. Therefore, the form actually implemented is not limited only to the specific embodiments disclosed, and the scope of the present specification includes changes, equivalents, or substitutes included in the technical idea described in the embodiments.

Although terms such as first or second may be used to describe various components, such terms should only be construed for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, a first element may be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element may be termed a first element.

It should be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” to another element, it may be directly connected or connected to the other element, but other elements may exist in the middle.

Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate that the described features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof exist, but it should be understood that the presence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof is not precluded.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning in the context of the related art, and are not interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal sense unless explicitly defined herein.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components regardless of reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted.

1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a computer system supporting network interface card (NIC) offload according to an embodiment. NIC offload is a technique for saving processing resources of the host system 100 by allowing at least some of the networking functions of the host system 100 to be driven in the NIC.

Referring to FIG. 1 , a system 100 according to an embodiment may include a host system 110 and a network interface card (NIC) 120 .

The host system 110 according to an embodiment is connected to at least one network interface card 120, and may include a NIC offload logic control component 112, an update agent 113, a storage 114, and a NIC driver 115. According to embodiments, the NIC offloadable networking function may include a virtual switch function for virtual machines (VMs) 111-1 and 111-2. In this case, the NIC offload logic control component 112 may be a virtual switch. A representative virtual switch is OVS (Open vSwitch), which can provide functions such as packet switching, filtering, tunneling, and NAT. In addition, the networking function capable of offloading the NIC may include a firewall function and/or an IPSec function, but for convenience of description, an embodiment in which the virtual switch function is offloaded will be mainly described.

According to an embodiment, the host system 110 may provide a virtualized hardware environment for executing one or more virtual machines 111-1 and 111-2. The virtual machines 111-1 and 111-2 are software implementations of computing resources and an operating system associated with the computing resources, and the host system 110 may provide physical computing resources to the virtual machines 111-1 and 111-2. As an example, software for virtualization of the host system 110 may be referred to as a hypervisor. The host system 110 may execute virtual machines 111-1 and 111-2 under the control of a hypervisor. For example, the virtual machines 111-1 and 111-2 may use SR-IOV (Single Root I/O Virtualization) allowing multiple virtual machines to share one I/O PCI Express hardware interface.

The host system 110 according to an embodiment may include a virtual switch that processes network packets transmitted to and received from one or more virtual machines 111-1 and 111-2. For example, the virtual switch may perform packet processing such as routing, permitting, blocking, and network address translation (NAT) of packets based on predefined rules. According to an embodiment, some rules of the virtual switch may be distributed to the NIC 120, and some functions of the virtual switch may be offloaded by performing packet processing in the NIC based on the distributed rules. This will be described in detail below.

The update agent 113 according to an embodiment may control a procedure for offloading at least a part of any one network interfacing function among a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system 110 to the network interface card 120. The network interfacing function is a function of processing network packets based on predetermined rules and/or logic, and may include, for example, a virtual switch function, a firewall function, and/or an internet protocol security (IPsec) function. The network interfacing function may be defined to operate according to rule data and/or logic data. The rule data may include a predefined set of flow rules for processing packets in the virtual machine. The logic data may include a set of customized logic corresponding to the network interfacing function, and may be defined for each network interfacing function. For example, the logic data may include logic for a network interfacing function performed with reference to rule data. A specific operation for controlling the offload of the NIC 120 of the update agent 113 will be described in detail below.

The storage 114 according to an embodiment may store logic data and rule data corresponding to a network interfacing function. For example, logic data corresponding to a specific network interfacing function may be stored in the storage 114 in the form of a binary file. The binary file may correspond to a file for programming a programmable logic element of the NIC.

The NIC driver 115 according to an embodiment is a program for driving the NIC 120, a program that supports offloading of logic data and rule data, and may reflect packet processing rules. The NIC driver 115 may control the operation of the NIC 120 by switching the mode of the NIC 120, and may encapsulate and decapsulate packets related to the virtual switch according to protocols related to the NIC 120.

According to an embodiment, the NIC 120 may process network packets related to virtual machines based on rules and/or logic related to network interfacing functions offloaded from the virtual switch. For example, when a network packet matches a rule and/or logic, an action may be performed on the packet based on the matched rule and/or logic. Alternatively, if the packet does not match the rules and/or logic, the packet may be forwarded to the host system 110 .

According to one embodiment, NIC 120 may include programmable logic elements to offload any of the network interfacing functions. Programmable logic devices may include Network Processing Units (NPUs) or FPGAs. NIC 120 may be programmed to perform customized logic for specific network interfacing functions based on distributed rule data and/or logic data. For example, the NIC 120 may offload any one function, such as a virtual switch function, a firewall function, or an IPsec function, by processing packets based on distributed rule data and/or logic data.

2 is an operation flowchart of an update agent according to an embodiment.

An update agent according to an embodiment may use a NIC driver to control a procedure for offloading at least a part of any one network interfacing function from among a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system to the network interface card.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the operation method of an update agent according to an embodiment may include receiving a control packet instructing to offload a network interface function to a network interface card (210), converting an operation mode of the network interface card to an update mode (220), distributing at least a part of rule data and logic data stored in a storage to a network interface card (230), and converting an operation mode of the network interface card to an offload mode (240). Steps 210 to 240 according to an embodiment may be performed by using a NIC driver in an update agent.

According to one embodiment, the control packet received in step 210 may include a request to update rule data and/or logic data distributed to the NIC. Control packets may be received through the NIC. For example, the rule data stored in the NIC may include a rule configured to forward a control packet to an update agent, and the control packet may be forwarded to the update agent through the network interface card according to the rule.

A control packet according to an embodiment may be distinguished from a data packet. For example, the control packet may include a packet transmitted through an undercloud network used by an administrator, and the data packet may include a packet transmitted through an overcloud network used by a user. A control packet may be distinguished from a data packet based on at least one of a physical port on which the packet is received and a logical identifier included in the packet. For example, a control packet may be received through a first port of the NIC and a data packet may be received through a second port of the NIC. As another example, control packets and data packets are not distinguished by physical port, but logically distinguished identifiers (e.g., VLAN headers) may be tagged to the packets, and the NIC may distinguish control packets from data packets with logical identifiers of received packets.

Step 210 according to an embodiment may include receiving a control packet instructing to offload any one network interfacing function from among a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system to the network interface card. The network interfacing function may include at least a portion of any one of a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system. As described above, the network interfacing function is a function of processing network packets based on predetermined rules, and may include, for example, a virtual switch function, a firewall function, and/or an IPsec function.

Step 220 according to an embodiment may include switching an operating mode of the network interface card to an update mode in which logic for offloading any one of the network interfacing functions is distributed to the corresponding network interface card. An operating mode of the network interface card may correspond to one of an offload mode and an update mode. The offload mode may correspond to a mode in which logic for offloading any one of network interfacing functions is performed in the NIC.

The update mode may be a basic mode (or legacy mode) or a pipelining mode according to embodiments. The basic mode may correspond to a mode in which the NIC does not perform logic for offloading any one of the network interfacing functions. In the basic mode, the NIC may be controlled so that no operation is performed by the programmable logic elements of the NIC. The update agent may use the NIC driver to switch the operation mode of the NIC from the offload mode to the basic mode as control packets are received.

The pipelining mode may be a mode in which a new offload function corresponding to a control packet is distributed using a second pipeline while maintaining an existing offload function performed before receiving a control packet using a first pipeline among a plurality of pipelines supported by the network interface card. In the pipelined mode, the update agent may control the network interface card to operate through the first pipeline while distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is in progress.

According to an embodiment, the update mode may be selected as a basic mode or a pipelining mode according to circumstances. For example, in the case of a major update in which the amount of newly distributed logic and tables is greater than a certain standard, the update mode is selected as the basic mode, and in the case of a minor update in which the amount of newly distributed logic and tables is less than or equal to a certain standard, the update mode may be selected as the pipelining mode.

Step 230 according to an embodiment may correspond to distributing at least a part of logic data and rule data corresponding to a network interfacing function indicated by a control packet to the NIC. Logic data and/or rule data corresponding to the network interfacing function may be stored in the host system as data corresponding to the network interfacing function.

Step 230 according to an embodiment may include determining whether to distribute logic data and/or rule data corresponding to the network interface to the network interface card by comparing a network interfacing function preset in the network interface card with a network interfacing function indicated by a control packet. For example, if the network interfacing function preset in the network interface card is the same as the network interfacing function indicated by the control packet, the distribution operation may not be repeated because the network interface card has already distributed a file corresponding to the corresponding network interfacing function. Meanwhile, when the network interfacing function preset in the network interface card is not the same as the network interfacing function indicated by the control packet, a distributing operation may be performed, and the network interfacing function indicated by the control packet may be set in the NIC.

According to an embodiment, the update agent may cache and store a file corresponding to a network interfacing function corresponding to a control packet in the storage of the host system, and may distribute the cached file to the NIC in step 230.

In step 230 according to an embodiment, when a file corresponding to the first network interfacing function indicated by the control packet is not stored in the storage of the host system, a file corresponding to the first network interfacing function may be downloaded from an external storage based on the control packet. The external storage may include storage of an external device connected to the host system through a network. An operation of downloading a file corresponding to the first network interfacing function from external storage may be performed based on predefined rules and control packets.

Step 240 according to an embodiment may include switching an operating mode of the NIC to an offload mode in which logic for offloading one of network interfacing functions is performed based on the distributed logic data. The NIC can be programmed to perform logic to offload network interfacing functions based on the distributed files. The NIC may process the received packets by receiving the packets and performing programmed network interfacing functions.

In the pipelined mode according to an embodiment, through steps 220 and 230, the update agent controls the network interface card to operate through the first pipeline while distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is in progress, and when the distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is completed through step 240, the update agent can be controlled to operate through the second pipeline.

When distribution is completed in the pipelining mode according to an embodiment, the update agent may distribute the new offload function to the first pipeline while the new offload function is being performed through the second pipeline. For example, referring to Table 1 below, the pipeline mode may be designed to utilize the first pipeline among the first pipeline and the second pipeline as a main line and utilize the second pipeline as a sub line.

update request update request pipeline 1 Driving renewal Driving renewal Driving pipeline 2 atmosphere Driving Wait (update the same while waiting) Driving Wait (update the same while waiting)

Alternatively, referring to Table 2 below, the pipelining mode may be designed to alternately utilize the first pipeline and the second pipeline as main lines.

update request update request pipeline 1 Driving keep running Wait (update the same while waiting) renewal Driving pipeline 2 atmosphere renewal Driving keep running Wait (update the same while waiting)

3 is a diagram illustrating a specific structure of a computer system supporting offload for network virtualization according to an embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 3 , a system 301 according to an embodiment may be connected to an undercloud network 303 and an overcloud network 304, and may be connected to a controller node 302 through an undercloud network 303. For example, system 301 may correspond to system 100 described above in FIG. 1, and host system 310 and NIC 320 included in system 301 may correspond to host system 110 and NIC 120 of FIG. 1, respectively.

According to an embodiment, the undercloud network 303 may correspond to a network connected to a system administrator and the overcloud network 304 may correspond to a network connected to a user. For example, the system manager stage may include a controller node 302 and may perform operations for management and/or control of the system 301 .

The controller node 302 according to an embodiment may include a management storage 331 and a management module 332 . Management storage 331 may store logic data corresponding to at least one network interfacing function that may be offloaded to NIC 320 . For example, logic data may be stored in the form of a binary file. The management module 332 may generate a signal for managing and controlling the system 301 based on a manager's input or judgment logic. For example, a signal requesting an update of the NIC 320 may be generated. The update request of the NIC 320 may correspond to a request to update rule data and/or logic data distributed to the NIC 320 in order to change a network interfacing function offloaded to the NIC 320 . According to an embodiment, a signal generated by the management module 332 may be transmitted to the NIC 320 through the undercloud network 303 as a control packet.

According to one embodiment, NIC 320 may receive packets via overcloud network 304 and/or undercloud network 303 . It can be processed based on predefined rules and logic. Packets transmitted through the overcloud network 304 may correspond to data packets, and packets transmitted through the undercloud network 303 may correspond to control packets. As described above, the NIC 320 may distinguish a data packet from a control packet based on at least one of a physical port through which the packet is received and a logical identifier included in the packet.

According to one embodiment, the NIC 320 may include a Programmable Logic 322 that is a programmable logic element, and may include a control processor 323 such as an application processor (AP) for controlling the Programmable Logic 322. For example, the Programmable Logic 322 may include a module that distinguishes data packets from control packets and transfers the control packets to the control processor 323 and a module that processes packets at the hardware level according to logic set in the Programmable Logic 322. The control processor 323 may correspond to an interface for controlling a module that processes packets, and may control modification of logic of the programmable logic 322 based on a control packet received from the host system 310 . In FIG. 3, the programmable logic element of the NIC 320 is shown as the programmable logic 322, but is not necessarily limited thereto, and may include various programmable logic elements.

According to one embodiment, the NIC 320 may include a communication interface 321 . Through the communication interface 321 , packets may be transmitted/received with external devices through the networks 303 and 304 , and packets may be transmitted/received with the host system 310 . The communication interface 321 may include a physical function (PF) that is a physical PCI card mapped to a physical port and a virtual function (VF) that is a virtual PCI card mapped to the physical PCI card. The communication interface 321 may also be included in the host system 310 .

In addition to the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the NIC 320 according to an embodiment may further include a chipset equipped with functions generally provided by NICs, such as traffic relay between ports and TCP segmentation offload (TSO). Functions such as traffic relay between ports and TCP segmentation offload (TSO) may be implemented as a separate chipset such as an Ethernet controller, but may also be implemented as logic of the Programmable Logic 322 according to an embodiment.

The host system 310 according to an embodiment may include one or more virtual machines (VMs) 311-1 and 311-2, virtual switches 312 and 316, a NIC driver 315, an update agent 313, and a storage 314. The virtual machines 311-1 and 311-2, the update agent 313, the storage 314, and the NIC driver 315 may correspond to the virtual machines 111-1 and 111-2, the update agent 113, the storage 114, and the NIC driver 115 of FIG. 1, respectively.

The virtual switches 312 and 316 according to an embodiment are logic for switching traffic between virtual machines or between a virtual machine and an external device, and can be divided into a user space module 312 in a control (or user space) area and a kernel module 316 in a data path (or kernel) area. The user space module 312 may manage a logically defined flow table and may manage rules regarding data paths based on the flow table. The kernel module 316 may perform an action on a matched packet based on the rule transmitted from the user space module 312 . Rules may be communicated to NIC 320 via a communication interface.

4 is an operational flow diagram of an update process of a NIC according to an embodiment.

Operations 401 and 410 to 460 of the NIC update process shown in FIG. 4 may be performed in a computer system supporting offload for network virtualization (e.g., computer system 100 in FIG. 1 or computer system 301 in FIG. 3). Hereinafter, a computer system supporting offload for network virtualization may be referred to as a system for short.

Referring to FIG. 4 , a NIC update request 401 based on a file identifier may be received by the system. 3, the NIC update request may correspond to a request to update rule data and/or logic data distributed to the NIC 320 in order to change a network interfacing function offloaded to the NIC 320, and may be received through a network (e.g., the undercloud network 303 of FIG. 3) as a control packet corresponding to a signal generated by a controller node (e.g., the controller node 302 of FIG. 3). The NIC update request 401 may include a file identifier indicating a file corresponding to an interfacing function to be changed.

According to an embodiment, when the controller node generates a request, it may be checked (410) whether a file indicated by the file identifier included in the NIC update request 401 is stored in the storage of the controller node (for example, the management storage 331 of FIG. 3). A file indicated by the file identifier is a file to be updated, and may be referred to as a target file hereinafter.

According to an embodiment, a control packet corresponding to the update request may be transferred from the NIC to the update agent based on rules (420). The update agent may determine whether to proceed with the update process by checking whether the target file is a file currently installed or distributed in the NIC (430). A file installed or distributed in the NIC may correspond to a network interfacing function set in the NIC or offloaded from the NIC. In other words, the operation of determining whether the target file is a file currently installed or distributed in the NIC (430) may correspond to an operation of determining whether to distribute logic data and/or rule data corresponding to network interfacing to the network interface card by comparing the network interfacing function previously set in the network interface card with the network interfacing function indicated by the control packet.

If the target file is a file installed on the NIC, the update process can be terminated since there is no need to perform the update. Meanwhile, when the target file is not a file installed in the NIC, an update process may proceed.

According to an embodiment, the update agent checks whether the target file is stored in the host system (440), and if not stored, downloads the target file from the storage of the controller node (450) and stores it in the host system. The NIC may be updated 460 by distributing the target file stored in the host system to the NIC.

5 is an operational flowchart of a process for controlling an offload procedure according to an update of a NIC according to an embodiment.

Operations 501 and 510 to 570 of the process for controlling the offload procedure shown in FIG. 5 may be performed by an update agent of the host system (e.g., update agent 113 in FIG. 1 or update agent 313 in FIG. 3).

According to an embodiment, the NIC update request 501 including the identifier of the target file may be received in the form of a control packet. The update agent may determine whether the operation mode of the NIC is an offload mode in order to update the NIC (510). If the operation mode of the NIC is the offload mode, the target file can be distributed to the NIC by switching to the update mode (520).

According to an embodiment, the update agent may determine whether modification of the NIC driver (eg, the NIC driver 115 of FIG. 1 or the NIC driver 315 of FIG. 3 ) is required based on the target file (540). If it is determined that modification is necessary, the init script of the operating system of the host system may be modified (550) to change the NIC driver (560). When the modification is completed or when the modification is not required, the NIC may be updated by resetting the updated NIC (570).

The embodiments described above may be implemented as hardware components, software components, and/or a combination of hardware components and software components. For example, the devices, methods and components described in the embodiments may be implemented using a general purpose computer or special purpose computer, such as, for example, a processor, controller, arithmetic logic unit (ALU), digital signal processor, microcomputer, field programmable gate array (FPGA), programmable logic unit (PLU), microprocessor, or any other device capable of executing and responding to instructions. The processing device may execute an operating system (OS) and software applications running on the operating system. A processing device may also access, store, manipulate, process, and generate data in response to execution of software. For convenience of understanding, there are cases in which one processing device is used, but those skilled in the art will recognize that the processing device may include a plurality of processing elements and/or multiple types of processing elements. For example, a processing device may include a plurality of processors or a processor and a controller. Other processing configurations are also possible, such as parallel processors.

Software may include a computer program, code, instructions, or a combination of one or more of these, and may configure a processing device to operate as desired, or may independently or collectively direct a processing device. Software and/or data may be permanently or temporarily embodied in any tangible machine, component, physical device, virtual equipment, computer storage medium or device to be interpreted by, or to provide instructions or data to, a processing device. Software may be distributed on networked computer systems and stored or executed in a distributed manner. Software and data may be stored on computer readable media.

The method according to the embodiment may be implemented in the form of program instructions that can be executed through various computer means and recorded on a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium may store program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination, and the program instructions recorded on the medium may be specially designed and configured for the embodiment or may be known and usable to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions such as ROM, RAM, and flash memory. Examples of program instructions include high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter, as well as machine language codes such as those produced by a compiler.

The hardware device described above may be configured to operate as one or a plurality of software modules to perform the operations of the embodiments, and vice versa.

As described above, although the embodiments have been described with limited drawings, those skilled in the art can apply various technical modifications and variations based on this. For example, even if the described techniques are performed in a different order than the described method, and/or components of the described system, structure, device, circuit, etc. are combined or combined in a different form from the described method, or replaced or substituted by other components or equivalents, appropriate results can be achieved.

Therefore, other implementations, other embodiments, and equivalents of the claims are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (30)

In a host system connected to at least one network interface card (NIC) to provide a virtual switch function for a virtual machine (VM),
an update agent controlling a procedure for offloading at least a part of one of a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system to the network interface card;
a storage for storing logic data and rule data corresponding to the network interfacing function; and
A NIC driver supporting offloading of the logic data and the rule data.
including,
The update agent, using the NIC driver,
Receiving a control packet instructing to offload one of the plurality of network interfacing functions to the network interface card;
switch the operating mode of the network interface card to an update mode that distributes logic to the network interface card for offloading any of the network interfacing functions;
distributing at least a portion of the rule data and the logic data stored in the storage to the network interface card;
Among the distributed logics, activating the logic to operate in the NIC,
host system.
According to claim 1,
wherein the network interface card includes programmable logic elements to perform any of the offloaded network interfacing functions.
host system.
According to claim 1,
The network interface card performs an operation of processing a received packet based on at least a portion of the rule data and the logic data.
host system.
According to claim 1,
The logic data includes customized logic corresponding to any one network interfacing function.
host system.
According to claim 1,
The update mode is
and a default mode that does not perform logic to offload any of the network interfacing functions to the network interface card.
host system.
According to claim 1,
the network interface card supports a plurality of pipelines;
The update mode is
A pipelining mode for distributing a new offload function corresponding to the control packet using a second pipeline while maintaining an existing offload function performed before receiving the control packet using a first pipeline of the plurality of pipelines,
host system.
According to claim 6,
The update agent, in the pipelining mode,
Control the network interface card to operate through the first pipeline while distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is in progress;
Controlling the network interface card to operate through the second pipeline when distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is completed.
host system.
According to claim 7,
The update agent
distributing the new offload function to the first pipeline while the new offload function is being performed through the second pipeline;
host system.
According to claim 1,
The update agent
In distributing to the network interface card,
Downloading logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function from an external storage based on the control packet when logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function indicated by the control packet is not stored in the storage.
host system.
According to claim 1,
The update agent
In distributing to the network interface card,
Comparing a network interfacing function preset in the network interface card with a network interfacing function indicated by the control packet to determine whether to distribute at least a part of the rule data and the logic data to the network interface card,
host system.
According to claim 1,
The network interfacing functions include functions for processing network packets based on predetermined rules.
host system.
According to claim 1,
The update agent
In distributing to the network interface card,
modifying the NIC driver based on the network interfacing function indicated by the control packet;
host system.
According to claim 1,
The rule data stored in the network interface card includes rules set to forward the control packet to the update agent;
the control packet is forwarded to the update agent through the network interface card according to the rule;
host system.
According to claim 1,
The control packet
Distinguished from data packets based on at least one of a physical port on which the packet is received and a logical identifier included in the packet,
host system.
According to claim 14,
The control packet includes a packet transmitted through the undercloud network,
The data packets include packets transmitted over the overcloud network.
host system.
A method of operating an update agent that controls a procedure for offloading at least a part of a network interfacing function driven by a host system to a network interface card, the method comprising:
receiving a control packet instructing to offload one of a plurality of network interfacing functions driven by the host system to the network interface card;
switching the operating mode of the network interface card to an update mode that distributes logic to the network interface card for offloading any one of the network interfacing functions;
distributing at least a portion of rule data and logic data stored in storage of the host system to the network interface card; and
Switching the operation mode of the network interface card to an offload mode based on the distributed logic data.
including,
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The host system is connected to at least one network interface card (NIC), provides a virtual switch function for a virtual machine (VM), and stores logic data and rule data corresponding to the network interfacing function, and a NIC driver supporting offloading of the logic data and the rule data.
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
wherein the network interface card includes programmable logic elements to perform any of the offloaded network interfacing functions.
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The network interface card performs an operation of processing a received packet based on at least a portion of the rule data and the logic data.
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The logic data includes customized logic corresponding to any one network interfacing function.
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The update mode is
and a default mode that does not perform logic to offload any of the network interfacing functions to the network interface card.
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
the network interface card supports a plurality of pipelines;
The update mode is
A pipelining mode for distributing a new offload function corresponding to the control packet using a second pipeline while maintaining an existing offload function performed before receiving the control packet using a first pipeline of the plurality of pipelines,
How the Update Agent works.
The method of claim 22,
The step of switching to the update mode is
Controlling the network interface card to operate through the first pipeline while distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is in progress;
The step of switching to the off-road mode is
When the distribution of the new offload function through the second pipeline is completed, controlling the network interface card to operate through the second pipeline.
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 23,
distributing the new offload function to the first pipeline while the new offload function is being performed through the second pipeline;
Including more,
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The step of distributing to the network interface card is
downloading logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function from an external storage based on the control packet when logic data corresponding to the first network interfacing function indicated by the control packet is not stored in the storage;
including,
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The step of distributing to the network interface card is
comparing a network interfacing function set in the network interface card with a network interfacing function indicated by the control packet, and determining whether to distribute at least a part of the rule data and the logic data to the network interface card;
including,
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The network interfacing functions include functions for processing network packets based on predetermined rules.
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The rule data stored in the network interface card includes rules set to forward the control packet to the update agent;
the control packet is forwarded to the update agent through the network interface card according to the rule;
How the Update Agent works.
According to claim 16,
The control packet
Distinguished from data packets based on at least one of a physical port on which the packet is received and a logical identifier included in the packet,
How the Update Agent works.
A computer program stored in a medium to execute the method of any one of claims 16 to 29 in combination with hardware.

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