WO2015052854A1 - Traffic management system and traffic management method - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a traffic management system that comprises: one or more network interface controllers (5) that send information to and receive information from one or more computer systems; one or more network switches (7) that send information to and receive information from an external network; and a logical switch management system (6) that bundles and manages traffic. The controller (5) is provided with a mechanism that internally completes transfer processing related to the traffic of one or more shared computer systems. The logical switch management system (6) is provided with a mechanism that acquires configuration information and statistical information from the controller (5) and the network switch (7) and configures the result as one logical switch. As a result, it is possible to provide a traffic management system that makes it possible to bundle and manage traffic that flows between a network interface controller and a network switch that is connected thereto.

Description

Traffic management system and traffic management method

The present invention relates to a traffic management system and a traffic management method, and more particularly to a traffic management system and a traffic management method capable of managing traffic between computer systems sharing the same network interface controller.

In recent years, technologies for sharing the same I / O device from one or more computer systems have emerged. For example, in the server virtualization technology, when one or more OS (Operating System) is physically operated on one computer system, the I / O device is SR-IOV (Single Root-I / O Virtualization). In addition, since the chip set supports IOMMU (I / O Memory Management Unit), it is possible to share the same I / O device from one or more virtual machines.

Furthermore, by using MR-IOV (Multi Root-I / O Virtualization) technology, I / O devices can be shared from one or more physically different computer systems.

Conventionally, SR-IOV has been adopted mainly for network interface controllers. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an overview of a network interface controller corresponding to SR-IOV or MR-IOV.

As shown in FIG. 10, in general, a network interface controller 1 compatible with SR-IOV or MR-IOV internally includes a packet switch 10 for communication between computer systems sharing the network interface controller 1. And a forwarding table 12 used by the packet switch 10 to determine the output destination of the packet. In the forwarding table 12, information indicating a destination such as a MAC (Media Access Control) address included in the packet header and an output destination interface (computer system interface 14 or external network port 16) are registered as a set. Has been. The packet switch 10 and the forwarding table 12 are often limited to simple functions in order to reduce the chip size and cost of the network interface controller 1. For this reason, for example, only switching using only the MAC address and VLAN ID is possible, and examples of not holding traffic statistical information are seen.

In addition, as an interface for the computer system, a PCI-Express interface 18, one or more computer system interfaces 14, and the like so that the network interface controller 1 can be shared from one or more computer systems. Is provided.

The PCI-Express interface 18 includes a function for handling transmission / reception of signals compliant with the PCI-Express standard with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a register and interface for setting the network interface controller 1. . On the other hand, the computer system interface 14 is called a physical function (PF) or a virtual function (VF) in the SR-IOV or MR-IOV specifications. The PCI-Express interface 18 analyzes a signal conforming to the PCI-Express standard sent from the CPU, determines which computer system interface 14 is the data to be transferred, and determines the computer system interface determined as the transfer destination The signal is transferred to 14.

The network interface controller 1 includes one or more external network ports 16 for connecting to an external network.

FIG. 11 is a system configuration diagram showing a state where one or more computer systems 4 share the network interface controller 1. As shown in FIG. 11, the network interface controller 1 is shared by one or more computer systems 4 (computer system 4a, computer system 4b,...) Via an I / O switch 3.

The computer system 4 includes a CPU 40, a memory 42, and an I / O interface 44. An example of the I / O interface 44 is a PCI-Express interface, for example. In addition, some functions of the I / O interface 44 may be built in the CPU 40. Although not shown in FIG. 11, various peripheral devices such as a hard disk and an optical drive are connected to the computer system 4 via the I / O interface 44 or the like.

The I / O switch 3 has a function of switching a signal conforming to PCI-Express. In the case of a PCI-Express compliant signal, data is transferred as a packet. That is, a header indicating a destination and CRC (Cyclic Redundant Check) data for error check are added to the data, and the data is switched and transferred by the I / O switch 3. Here, a packet that flows through a computer network such as Ethernet (registered trademark) is referred to as a network packet, and a packet that flows through a PCI-Express bus is referred to as a PCIe packet. In the I / O switch 3, either a method of performing transfer using the memory address included in the PCIe packet header, or a method of performing transfer based on the bus number, device number, and function number included in the PCIe packet header. As a result, the PCIe packet is transferred.

Different sets of [bus number, device number, function number] are assigned to each computer system interface 14 provided in the network interface controller 1. Accordingly, the computer system 4 (computer system 4a, computer system 4b,...) And the I / O switch 3 can identify the computer system interface.

When the computer system 4a and the computer system 4b communicate via the network interface controller 1 in the environment of FIG. 11, the network packet is as follows by the operation of each part of the network interface controller 1 shown in FIG. Forwarded to

First, the PCIe packet is sent from the computer system 4 a to the computer system interface 14 assigned to the computer system 4 a provided in the network interface controller 1 via the I / O interface 44 and the I / O switch 3. Send. A network packet is stored in the payload portion of the PCIe packet. Depending on the size of the network packet, the computer system 4a divides the network packet, divides it into payloads of one or more PCIe packets, stores them, and transmits them.

Next, the network interface controller 1 that has received the PCIe packet from the computer system 4 a takes out the network packet from the PCIe packet by the PCI-Express interface 18. When a network packet is transmitted after being divided into one or more PCIe packets, the network interface controller 1 assembles the network packet.

Next, the packet switch 10 refers to the forwarding table 12 using the header information of the network packet and searches for the computer system interface 14 that is the transfer destination of the network packet.

Next, the packet switch 10 outputs the network packet to the computer system interface 14 which is the transfer destination of the network packet obtained by the search result of the forwarding table 12.

The output network packet is stored as a payload in the PCIe packet by the PCI-Express interface 18 and transferred to the destination computer system 4b.

Thus, communication between computer systems 4 sharing I / O is processed by the network interface controller 1, and no network packet is transmitted to the external network.

That is, from the viewpoint of network management, since the network interface controller 1 operates like a network switch, it must be managed as a network switch.

On the other hand, in VEPA (Virtual Ethernet Port Aggregator) defined in IEEE 802.1Qbg of Non-Patent Document 1 and Bridge Port Extension defined in IEEE 802.1Qbh of Non-Patent Document 2, network interface controller 1 Is defined to forward all network packets from the computer system 4 to an external network. Therefore, in the case of communication between the computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 1, a network switch that is directly connected to the external network port 16 of the network interface controller 1 and that exists in the external network inputs the network packet. Is output to the same port as the input port, the network packet is returned to the network interface controller 1 that has output the network packet. Processing necessary for switching of the network switch is performed in the adjacent switch, thereby realizing switching between the computer systems 4.

In the technologies of Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2, since all traffic is transferred to the network switch of the external network, from the viewpoint of network management, only the network switch is managed as in the past. Good.

The following analysis is given by the present invention.

The first problem in the prior art is that communication between computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 1 cannot be managed in the case of the techniques shown in FIGS.

The reason is that in the case of communication between such computer systems 4, the network packet is not transferred to the external network, and the transfer process of the network packet is completed inside the network interface controller 1. This is because there is no function for obtaining traffic statistics.

The second problem in the prior art is that, in the case of the techniques described in Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2, the link between the network interface controller 1 and the network switch of the external network becomes a bottleneck. Is a point.

The reason is that all network packets pass through the link, and traffic between the computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 1 is compressed by traffic with the external network. In addition, as the number of computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 1 increases, traffic sharing the same link increases, and this link becomes a bottleneck.

The third problem in the prior art is that, in the case of the techniques shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the management point is greatly increased if the network interface controller 1 is managed in the same manner as the conventional network switch. That is the point.

The reason is that the number of network interface controllers 1 is equal to the number of computer systems 4 at the maximum, so that depending on the environment such as a large-scale data center, the number of computer systems 4 becomes enormous and the number of network switches This is because the number is several tens of times.

(Object of the present invention)
The present invention has the first problem described above, that is, the problem that communication between computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 1 cannot be managed, and the second problem, that is, all network packets are A traffic management system capable of effectively solving the problem that communication performance is deteriorated by using an external network and the third problem, that is, the problem that the management point of the network is greatly increased; Its purpose is to provide a traffic management method.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the traffic management system and the traffic management method according to the present invention mainly adopt the following characteristic configuration.

(1) A traffic management system according to the present invention includes at least one network interface controller that transmits and receives information to and from one or more computer systems, and is connected to the network interface controller and transmits information to and from an external network. A traffic management system that includes at least one or more network switches that transmit and receive and a logical switch configuration system that constitutes a logical switch, and manages information to be transmitted and received, each network interface controller including the network interface controller For traffic between one or more computer systems that share the network, the transfer process is completed within the network interface controller, and the statistical information of the traffic is displayed. The logical switch configuration system includes a mechanism for acquiring configuration information and statistical information from each network interface controller and each network switch and configuring the logical switch configuration system as one logical switch. It is characterized by that.

(2) A traffic management method according to the present invention includes one or more network interface controllers that transmit and receive information to and from one or more computer systems, and the network interface controller that is connected to the network interface controller and transmits information to and from external networks. A traffic management method for managing information transmitted and received in a system including at least one network switch for transmitting and receiving and a logical switch configuration system constituting a logical switch, wherein each of the network interface controllers includes the network switch For traffic between one or more computer systems that share an interface controller, transfer processing is completed within the network interface controller and the traffic is consolidated. In addition to having a mechanism for acquiring and managing information, the logical switch configuration system has a mechanism for acquiring configuration information and statistical information from each network interface controller and each network switch and configuring the logical switch as one logical switch. It is characterized by that.

According to the traffic management system and traffic management method of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, in the present invention, the traffic between one or more computer systems sharing the network interface controller and the traffic flowing through the network switch to which the network interface controller is connected can be reduced without degrading the communication performance. Centralized management is possible without increasing management points.

The reason is that the configuration information and statistical information are obtained from the network interface controller and the network switch, and a mechanism for configuring the logical interface as one logical switch is provided, and between one or more computer systems sharing the network interface controller. This is because the traffic can be completed in the network interface controller.

It is a system configuration figure showing an example of composition of a traffic management system concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of an internal structure of the network interface controller shown to the traffic management system of FIG. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of an internal structure of the network switch shown to the traffic management system of FIG. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of an internal structure of the logical switch management part of the logical switch management system shown in the traffic management system of FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows an example of the flow of a process for the logical switch management system shown in FIG. 1 to comprise a logical switch. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of processing for adding an entry to a loopback table or updating an entry registered in the loopback table when the network interface controller shown in FIG. 2 receives a network packet. . It is a system configuration | structure figure which shows an example of a structure of the traffic management system at the time of implementing using an open flow. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of an internal structure of the network interface controller corresponding to an open flow shown to the traffic management system of FIG. It is a block block diagram which shows an example of the internal structure of the OpenFlow switch shown to the traffic management system of FIG. It is a block block diagram which shows the general view of the network interface controller corresponding to SR-IOV or MR-IOV. FIG. 2 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a state in which one or more computer systems share a network interface controller.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a traffic management system and a traffic management method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The traffic management method according to the present invention may be implemented as a traffic management program that can be executed by a computer, or the traffic management program may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Needless to say.

(Features of the present invention)
Prior to the description of the embodiments of the present invention, an outline of the features of the present invention will be described first. The traffic management system of the present invention provides a mechanism for acquiring configuration information and statistical information from a network interface controller and a network switch and configuring it as a single logical switch, and sharing one or more network interface controllers. As for the traffic between computer systems, the main feature is that the transfer process can be completed within the network interface controller. Thus, the traffic between one or more computer systems sharing the network interface controller The traffic flowing through the network switch to which the network interface controller is connected can be increased without degrading the communication performance and the management point. Rather, it is made possible to centrally manage.

More specifically, the present invention comprises a table (loopback table) for holding traffic identification information and statistical information between one or more computer systems sharing a network interface controller in the network interface controller, A logical switch management system having a mechanism configured as a logical switch includes configuration information acquisition means (a network interface controller management unit interface and a network switch management unit interface) for acquiring configuration information from a network interface controller and a network switch, Connection information management means (connection information) for managing connection information indicating how the network interface controller and the network switch are connected. Logical switch configuration means for determining the number of ports of the logical switch and the number of entries in the forwarding table from the identification unit, the statistical information, the configuration information, and the connection information, and configuring the logical switch The main features include at least a logical switch port management unit and a logical switch forwarding table management unit) and traffic information acquisition means (logical switch management interface) for acquiring traffic information from the configured logical switch. It is said.

(Configuration example of embodiment)
A configuration example of a traffic management system as an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the reference numerals attached to the following drawings are added for convenience to each element as an example for facilitating understanding, and it is needless to say that the present invention is not intended to be limited to the illustrated embodiment. Yes.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a configuration example of a traffic management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The traffic management system 8 shown in FIG. 1 includes a logical switch management system 6, one or more network interface controllers 5, and one or more network switches 7. The logical switch management system 6 includes at least a logical switch management unit 60, a network switch management unit 62, and a network interface controller management unit 64.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the network interface controller 5 shown in the traffic management system 8 of FIG. The network interface controller 5 shown as an example in FIG. 2 is configured by newly adding a loopback table 13 and a management interface 17 to the conventional network interface controller 1 shown in FIG. In the network interface controller 5 of FIG. 2, the same components as those of the conventional network interface controller 1 shown in FIG. 10 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

The loopback table 13 includes traffic identification information, an identifier of the destination computer system interface 14, and traffic for traffic between computer systems sharing the same network interface controller 5 (computer system 4 shown in FIG. 11). Is a table for managing the statistical information.

Here, the traffic identification information is, for example, physical information of the network interface controller 5 such as the identifier of the computer system interface 14 of the transmission source, MAC address, VLAN ID, IP address, L4 (Layer 4: Transport) Layer) is composed of a set of information included in the header of a network packet, such as a protocol type and an L4 port number. Hereinafter, individual traffic identified by this traffic identification information is referred to as “flow”.

Further, the traffic statistical information includes at least the number of passing packets of each flow, the number of passing bytes, and the time when the entry of the flow was last referred.

The management interface 17 is an interface for connecting to the logical switch management system 6. The management interface 17 may be an interface that is physically independent of the external network port 16, an interface that is physically integrated with the external network port 16, or a PCI-Express. An interface via the interface 18 may be used.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the network switch 7 shown in the traffic management system 8 of FIG. The network switch 7 illustrated in FIG. 3 includes at least a packet switch 70, a forwarding table 72, one or more network ports 74, a packet switch management unit 76, and a management interface 78.

Each network port 74 is an interface for connecting to the network interface controller 5 and other network switches 7 and is used for transmitting and receiving network packets.

The packet switch 70 is a module for determining a network port 74 as an output destination by referring to the forwarding table 72 based on the information of the network packet received from any one of the network ports 74, and transmitting the network packet. is there. The packet switch 70 may perform not only the process of determining and sending out the output destination network port 74 but also the process of dropping the network packet, the process of rewriting the header information of the network packet, and the like. good.

As in the case of the loopback table 13 in the network interface controller 5 of FIG. 2, the forwarding table 72 includes flow identification information, a destination network port 74 identifier, and flow statistics for traffic flowing through the packet switch 70. It is a table for managing information.

The packet switch management unit 76 is a module for managing the packet switch 70. Specifically, processing such as entry reading and writing to the forwarding table 72 and setting to the network port 74 can be mentioned. When the network switch 7 is a general network switch, the packet switch management unit 76 is realized in the form of an application that runs on a general-purpose CPU and a general-purpose OS.

The management interface 78 is an interface for connecting to the logical switch management system 6. The management interface 78 may be realized as a management port provided in a general network switch, or may be realized as an interface physically integrated with any one of the network ports 74.

The logical switch management system 6 shown in FIG. 1 includes at least the logical switch management unit 60, the network switch management unit 62, and the network interface controller management unit 64, as described above.

The logical switch management system 6 has a function of logically managing the network interface controller 5 and the network switch 7 as one switch.

The network interface controller management unit 64 of the logical switch management system 6 sends the specification information (configuration information) and traffic transfer status (statistical information) of each network interface controller 5 via the management interface 17 of each network interface controller 5. Read and hold inside. Further, the network switch management unit 62 reads the specification information (configuration information) and traffic transfer status (statistical information) of each network switch 7 via the management interface 78 of each network switch 7 and holds them internally. To do.

Therefore, each of the network interface controller management unit 64 and the network switch management unit 62 internally includes information on the specification information and traffic transfer status of each network interface controller 5, and the specification information and traffic of each network switch 7. And a storage area for storing information on the transfer status of each. In the logical switch management unit 60, a logical switch is configured using information acquired and held by the network switch management unit 62 and the network interface controller management unit 64.

The specification information of each network interface controller 5 acquired and held by the network interface controller management unit 64 includes at least the total number of computer system interfaces 14, the total number of entries in the loopback table 13, and the number of external network ports 16. Including the total number. In addition to such information, for example, the total number of entries in the forwarding table 12, functions provided in the computer system interface 14, functions provided in the packet switch 10, and the like are assumed as examples of specification information of each network interface controller 5. .

The traffic transfer status of each network interface controller 5 acquired and held by the network interface controller management unit 64 includes at least the number of used entries in the loopback table 13 of each network interface controller 5 and the used entries. And registered information. In addition to such information, for example, the number of entries used in the forwarding table 12 and information registered in the entries used in the forwarding table 12 are assumed as the traffic transfer status of each network interface controller 5.

On the other hand, the specification information of each network switch 7 acquired and held by the network switch management unit 62 includes at least the total number of entries in the forwarding table 72 of each network switch 7 and the total number of network ports 74. In addition to such information, for example, functions provided in the network port 74, functions provided in the packet switch 70, and the like are assumed as examples of the specification information of each network switch 7.

Also, the traffic transfer status of each network switch 7 acquired and held by the network switch management unit 62 is registered in at least the number of entries used in the forwarding table 72 of each network switch 7 and the entries used in the forwarding table 72. Information.

The information registered in the forwarding table 72 includes at least flow identification information, the number of passing packets for each flow, the number of passing bytes, and the time when the entry of the flow was last referred.

FIG. 4 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of an internal configuration of the logical switch management unit 60 of the logical switch management system 6 shown in the traffic management system 8 of FIG. 4 includes a network switch management unit interface 600, a network interface controller management unit interface 610, a logical switch forwarding table management unit 620, a logical switch port management unit 630, and connection information management. 640 and a logical switch management interface 660 at least.

The network switch management unit interface 600 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information to and from the network switch management unit 62 in the logical switch management system 6 shown in FIG. The network interface controller management unit interface 610 is an interface for transmitting and receiving information to and from the network interface controller management unit 64 in the logical switch management system 6 shown in FIG.

The logical switch forwarding table management unit 620 includes the information of the loopback table 13 of the network interface controller 5 of FIG. 2 acquired by the network interface controller management unit 64 and the forwarding of the network switch 7 of FIG. 3 acquired by the network switch management unit 62. This is a module that logically manages the information in the table 72 as one table. As a result, the logical switch forwarding table management unit 620 holds statistical information of flows that flow through the network interface controller 5 and the network switch 7.

In other words, the logical switch forwarding table management unit 620 obtains the number of entries in the forwarding table of the logical switch and creates the forwarding table of the logical switch as follows, and each loopback is created in the created forwarding table of the logical switch. Information on the table 13 and each forwarding table 72 is stored.
(Number of entries in the forwarding table of the logical switch)
= (Total number of entries in the loopback table 13 of each network interface controller 5)
+ (Total number of entries in the forwarding table 72 of each network switch 7)

The logical switch port management unit 630 includes information on the computer system interface 14 of the network interface controller 5 acquired by the network interface controller management unit 64 of FIG. 1 and the network of the network switch 7 acquired by the network switch management unit 62 of FIG. This is a module that manages the information of the port 74 as a port included in the logical switch.

The connection information management unit 640 manages connection information between the network interface controller 5 and the network switch 7. The connection information is information indicating which external network port 16 of which network interface controller 5 is connected to which network port 74 of which network switch 7. The connection information may be statically stored in advance, or for example, connection information may be dynamically acquired by flowing a network packet for link connection confirmation. In the latter case, for example, it is assumed to use LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol).

The logical switch management interface 660 is an interface for reading logical switch information. The configuration of the logical switch such as the number of ports of the logical switch and the size of the forwarding table of the logical switch, and the statistical information of the flow flowing through the logical switch can be acquired.

The logical switch port management unit 630 calculates the total number of ports of the logical switch from the connection information managed by the connection information management unit 640 and the information managed by the logical switch port management unit 630 itself as follows. Ask.
(Total number of logical switch ports)
= (Total number of computer system interfaces 14 of each network interface controller 5)
+ (Total number of network ports 74 of each network switch 7)
-(The number of links between the network interface controller 5 and the network switch 7)

Next, the logical switch port manager 630 determines which computer system interface 14 of which network interface controller 5 corresponds to which network port 74 of which network switch 7 the logical switch port corresponds to. Associate. The result of the association is held by the logical switch port management unit 630 as mapping information.

Further, when the logical switch port management unit 630 has acquired the function of the computer system interface 14 and the function of the network port 74 in the network switch management unit 62 and the network interface controller management unit 64. In addition, information indicating what function is provided for each logical port can be added to the mapping information.

(Description of operation of embodiment)
Next, an example of the overall operation of the traffic management system 8 shown as an embodiment of the present invention in FIGS. 1 to 4 will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of a process flow for the logical switch management system 6 illustrated in FIG. 1 to configure a logical switch. Information transmission / reception between the network interface controller 5 and the network switch 7 is performed. In addition, an example of a processing flow in the logical switch management system 6 is shown. Note that the processing of the logical switch management system 6 shown in FIG. 5 is periodically performed at an arbitrary timing.

In the sequence diagram of FIG. 5, first, the logical switch management system 6 acquires information on the computer system interface 14 and the loopback table 13 from the network interface controller 5 through the network interface controller management unit 64 (steps). S100). Examples of information related to the computer system interface 14 include the number of computer system interfaces 14 and the functions of each computer system interface 14. Examples of information relating to the loopback table 13 include the number of entries in the loopback table 13.

Next, the logical switch management system 6 acquires information regarding the network port 74 and the forwarding table 72 from the network switch 7 through the network switch management unit 62 (step S110). Examples of information related to the network port 74 include the number of network ports 74, functions provided in each network port 74, and the like. Examples of information related to the forwarding table 72 include the number of entries in the forwarding table 72.

Here, since step S100 and step S110 of FIG. 5 are independent processes, step S110 can be executed first, or step S100 and step S110 can be executed simultaneously.

Next, the logical switch management system 6 obtains the number of logical switch ports from the information regarding the number of computer system interfaces 14 acquired from the network interface controller 5 and the number of network ports 74 acquired from the network switch 7 ( Step S120).

Next, the logical switch management system 6 uses the information on the number of entries in the loopback table 13 acquired from the network interface controller 5 and the information on the number of entries in the forwarding table 72 acquired from the network switch 7 to enter the entry in the forwarding table of the logical switch. The number is obtained (step S130).

Here, since step S120 and step S130 in FIG. 5 are independent processes, step S130 can be executed first, or step S120 and step S130 can be executed simultaneously.

As described above, the logical switch management system 6 configures a logical switch based on the calculated number of ports of the logical switch and the number of entries in the forwarding table of the logical switch.

Next, an example of processing for adding / updating an entry to the loopback table 13 of the network interface controller 5 shown in FIG. 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 6 shows a process for adding an entry to the loopback table 13 or a process for updating an entry registered in the loopback table 13 when the network interface controller 5 shown in FIG. 2 receives a network packet. It is a flowchart which shows an example.

6, first, when the network interface controller 5 receives a network packet from either the computer system interface 14 or the external network port 16, the network interface controller 5 refers to the forwarding table 12 (step S200).

Next, the network interface controller 5 determines whether both the input / output ports of the received network packet are the computer system interface 14 using the result of referring to the forwarding table 12 in step S200 (step S200). S210). Here, whether the input / output port of each network packet is the computer system interface 14 is determined, for example, by the network interface controller 5, which port is the computer system interface 14, or the network interface controller 5. It is conceivable to hold information indicating whether or not there is, and compare this information with the result of referring to the forwarding table 12. Alternatively, it can also be realized by including in each entry of the forwarding table 12 a flag indicating that both of the input / output ports are the computer system interface 14.

Next, when both the input and output ports of the received network packet are the computer system interface 14 (Yes in step S210), the network interface controller 5 uses the information of the header of the network packet to loop back. It is determined whether or not an entry exists in the table 13 (step S220).

If an entry exists in the loopback table 13 (Yes in Step S220), the network interface controller 5 updates the statistical information of the entry in the loopback table 13 (Step S230).

On the other hand, if there is no entry in the loopback table 13 (No in step S220), the network interface controller 5 additionally registers the identifier of the flow to which the received network packet belongs in the loopback table 13 as a new entry. (Step S240).

In step S210, if any one of the input / output ports of the network packet is not the computer system interface 14 (No in step S210), the network interface controller 5 does not perform any operation on the loopback table 13.

Here, in the logical switch management system 6, as described above, the flow statistics are periodically obtained from the loopback table 13 of the network interface controller 5 and the forwarding table 72 of the network switch 7 at predetermined intervals. The information is acquired and the information in the forwarding table of the logical switch is updated.

(Description of the effect of this embodiment)
As described above in detail, the traffic management system 8 according to the present embodiment provides the following effects.

That is, each network interface controller 5 of the traffic management system 8 includes a loopback table 13, can hold statistical information regarding traffic between computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 5, and the network interface controller 5. As for the traffic between one or more computer systems 4 sharing the same, the transfer process can be completed within the network interface controller 5. In addition, the logical switch management system 6 performs logical processing based on information on the loopback table 13 and the computer system interface 14 of the network interface controller 5 and information on the forwarding table 72 and network port 74 of the network switch 7. By configuring the switch, the network interface controller 5 and the network switch 7 can be managed as one logical switch.

As a result, the traffic between the one or more computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 5 and the traffic flowing through the network switch 7 to which the network interface controller 5 is connected can be reduced without degrading the communication performance. Centralized management is possible without increasing management points.

Next, as a specific embodiment, the present invention is used in the case of using OpenFlow, which is one of the technologies for constructing a software-defined network (SDN: Software-Defined Network) on a physical network. The operation for carrying out the above will be described in more detail.

FIG. 7 is a system configuration diagram showing an example of the configuration of the traffic management system 80 when implemented using OpenFlow. For OpenFlow, please refer to “OpenFlow Specification Version 1.3.1 (Wire Protocol 0x04) September 6, 2012”, <https: //www.opennetworking. org / images / stories / downloads / specification / openflow-spec-v1.3.1.pdf>, and so on, are not described in detail here.

The traffic management system 80 shown in FIG. 7 includes an OpenFlow controller 110, one or more OpenFlow switches 100, and one or more OpenFlow compatible network interface controllers 120.

The OpenFlow controller 110 controls the switches (OpenFlow switch 100 and OpenFlow compatible network interface controller 120) corresponding to the OpenFlow specification by using an API (Application Programming Interface) based on the OpenFlow specification.

Therefore, the OpenFlow controller 110 includes an OpenFlow interface 140. In OpenFlow, there is no specific provision regarding how to control the network in advance. Instead, the user can use the OpenFlow interface 140 to select an arbitrary network control application for controlling the network. It can be freely implemented.

Here, in the traffic management system 80 according to the present embodiment, as a network control application, a logical switch management unit 60, a network interface controller management unit 64, which have the same functions as those in the logical switch management system 6 of FIG. The network switch management unit 62 is mounted in a form arbitrarily defined by the user using the OpenFlow interface 140. However, at that time, the network interface controller management unit 64 and the network switch management unit 62 use an API provided by the OpenFlow interface 140.

In OpenFlow, a control communication connection called a secure channel is established between the OpenFlow controller 110 and a switch corresponding to the OpenFlow specification. The OpenFlow controller 110 includes a secure channel control unit 130 for this purpose.

In OpenFlow, when OpenFlow controller 110 and a switch that supports OpenFlow are connected through a secure channel, information about what function the switch that supports OpenFlow has is provided. Exchange with 110. The information includes information about the number of ports of the switch corresponding to the open flow and the number of entries in the flow table provided for performing flow management in the switch corresponding to the open flow. As a result, the OpenFlow controller 110 can configure a logical switch.

In addition, since the OpenFlow controller 110 can read the information in the flow table of the switch corresponding to the OpenFlow at an arbitrary timing, the information about how many flow entries are consumed and the statistical information of each flow Can also be acquired reliably.

FIG. 8 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the network interface controller 120 for OpenFlow shown in the traffic management system 80 of FIG. The open flow compatible network interface controller 120 shown in FIG. 8 is different from the network interface controller 5 shown in FIG. 2 in that a control CPU 19 and a flow table 20 are added, and a forwarding table 12 and a loopback table. 13 are excluded, but the other parts are composed of the same elements as those of the network interface controller 5 of FIG. The same components as those of the network interface controller 5 of FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the network interface controller 5 of FIG. 2, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

The flow table 20 is a table for flow management in OpenFlow. The flow entry of the flow table 20 includes an input port number to the packet switch 10, a key defined by information (an identifier of the network packet) included in a network packet header such as a MAC address and an IP address, and the key And an action for a packet belonging to a packet group matching the above. The key can also use a wild card, and is defined as “a flow with an L4 port number of 80 (port number meaning HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)) regardless of the MAC address or IP address”. A way is also possible. In addition, the action can specify not only the output destination port of the network packet but also the rewriting of the header of the network packet, the packet drop, and the like. Note that the packet switch 10 operates based on the actions held in the flow table 20 in this embodiment.

The control CPU 19 processes the OpenFlow protocol, controls the packet switch 10 and the flow table 20, and executes an OpenFlow agent for managing a secure channel with the OpenFlow controller 110. The OpenFlow agent exchanges messages with the OpenFlow controller 110 based on the OpenFlow specifications, and reads information from the flow table 20 based on the messages.

The traffic between the computer systems 4 sharing the OpenFlow compatible network interface controller 120 can be detected as follows.

First, when the OpenFlow controller 110 and the OpenFlow compatible network interface controller 120 exchange information regarding the functions provided in the OpenFlow compatible network interface controller 120, which of the ports included in the OpenFlow compatible network interface controller 120 is The function is extended so that information including information indicating whether the interface is for the computer system 14 is exchanged. Extensions like this are possible in the form of vendor extensions in OpenFlow. Thereby, the OpenFlow controller 110 can acquire information about which port of the OpenFlow compatible network interface controller 120 is the computer system interface 14.

Next, the OpenFlow controller 110 acquires information on entries registered in the flow table 20 of the OpenFlow compatible network interface controller 120, and the input port included in the key and the output destination port included in the action are , It is determined whether or not both are the computer system interface 14. When both are the computer system interface 14, the flow can be recognized as traffic between the computer systems 4 sharing the open flow compatible network interface controller 120.

FIG. 9 is a block configuration diagram showing an example of the internal configuration of the OpenFlow switch 100 shown in the traffic management system 80 of FIG. 9 is different from the network switch 7 of FIG. 3 in that a flow table 73 and a control CPU 77 are added, and a forwarding table 72 and a packet switch management unit 76 are excluded. The other parts are the same as those of the network switch 7 in FIG. The same components as those of the network switch 7 of FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the network switch 7 of FIG. 3, and detailed description thereof is omitted here.

Note that the flow table 73 and the control CPU 77 have exactly the same functions as the flow table 20 and the control CPU 19 of the open flow compatible network interface controller 120, respectively. The detailed explanation is omitted.

Thus, even when using OpenFlow, it is possible to manage traffic between computer systems 4 sharing the network interface controller 5.

According to the present invention, in an environment such as a data center where a large number of servers equipped with a network interface controller are used, a logical switch is configured so that the network interface controller and the network switch are collectively managed to manage traffic. It can be suitably applied to the application.

The configuration of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, it should be noted that such embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and do not limit the present invention in any way. Those skilled in the art will readily understand that various modifications and changes can be made according to a specific application without departing from the gist of the present invention.

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-209858 filed on Oct. 7, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein.

1 Network Interface Controller 3 I / O Switch 4 Computer System 4a Computer System 4b Computer System 5 Network Interface Controller 6 Logical Switch Management System 7 Network Switch 8 Traffic Management System 10 Packet Switch 12 Forwarding Table 13 Loopback Table 14 Computer System Interface 16 External network port 17 Management interface 18 PCI-Express interface 19 Control CPU
20 Flow table 40 CPU
42 Memory 44 I / O Interface 60 Logical Switch Manager 62 Network Switch Manager 64 Network Interface Controller Manager 70 Packet Switch 72 Forwarding Table 73 Flow Table 74 Network Port 76 Packet Switch Manager 77 Control CPU
78 Management Interface 80 Traffic Management System 100 OpenFlow Switch 110 OpenFlow Controller 120 OpenFlow Compatible Network Interface Controller 130 Secure Channel Controller 140 OpenFlow Interface 600 Network Switch Manager Interface 610 Network Interface Controller Manager Interface 620 Logical Switch Forwarding Table Management Section 630 Logical switch port management section 640 Connection information management section 650 Mapping information management section 660 Logical switch management interface

Claims (10)

1. One or more network interface controllers that send and receive information to and from one or more computer systems; one or more network switches that are connected to the network interface controller and send and receive information to and from external networks; and logic A logical switch configuration system constituting a switch, and each of the network interface controllers completes a transfer process in the network interface controller for traffic between one or more computer systems sharing the network interface controller. And a mechanism for acquiring and managing statistical information of the traffic, and the logical switch configuration system includes each network interface component. Traffic management system, characterized in that to obtain configuration information and statistics from the roller and each of said network switch comprises a mechanism configured as one logical switch.
2. The network interface controller includes one or more computer system interfaces for sharing from one or more computer systems, one or more external network ports for connecting to an external network, and the computer system interface or A forwarding table that holds an output destination of a packet input from the external network port, and the computer system interface that receives the input packet as an output destination based on an output destination held by the forwarding table; A packet switch that outputs to an external network port, and identification information and statistical information about traffic to which a packet that flows between the computer system interfaces belongs. Traffic management system according to claim 1, wherein the loop-back table for lifting, a management interface for acquiring information the loopback table holds from the logical switch management system, in that it comprises at least.
3. The network interface controller refers to the forwarding table when a packet is input, and determines that both the port to which the packet is input and the port to output the packet are the computer system interface. Whether or not there is an entry corresponding to the loopback table based on the identification information of the traffic extracted from the received packet, and if there is a corresponding entry, the corresponding entry of the loopback table is determined. The statistical information of an entry is updated. On the other hand, if there is no corresponding entry, a new entry is added to the loopback table using the traffic identification information extracted from the packet as a key. Item 2. Traffic Click management system.
4. When the network interface controller is a controller that supports OpenFlow, one or more computer system interfaces for sharing from one or more computer systems, and one or more externals for connecting to an external network A flow table that holds a set of a network port, an identifier of a packet group input from the computer system interface or the external network port, and an action to be performed on each packet belonging to the packet group; Based on the action held in the flow table, a packet input from the computer system interface or the external network port is changed to the specified computer system interface. Messages between the network switch or the packet switch that outputs to the external network port, the control CPU (Central Processing Unit) for processing the OpenFlow protocol, and the OpenFlow controller that manages OpenFlow The traffic management system according to claim 1, wherein the traffic management system is configured as an open flow compatible network interface controller including at least a management interface to be exchanged.
5. The logical switch management system is provided for managing information relating to network port identifiers and the number of network ports, flow identification information and statistical information provided for the network switch to input and output to an external network. Information regarding the number of entries in the forwarding table, between the network switch management means for acquiring the information from the network switch as configuration information of the network switch, and the interface for the computer system for connecting the network interface controller to the computer system Information regarding the number of entries in the loopback table provided to hold identification information and statistical information about the traffic to which the packet flowing through Network interface controller management means for acquiring information on the number of interfaces for a computer system provided for sharing from a computer system as configuration information of the network interface controller from the network interface controller, the network interface controller, and the network switch Connection information management means for holding connection information indicating which interface is connected, information on the number of entries in the forwarding table of the acquired network switch, and the acquired loopback of the network interface controller The number of entries in the forwarding table of the logical switch is obtained from the information on the number of entries in the table. Logical switch forwarding table management means constituting a logical forwarding table, acquired information on the number of network ports to the network of the network switch, acquired information on the number of interfaces for the computer system of the network interface controller, and Logical switch port management means for obtaining and managing the number of ports of the logical switch from the connection information indicating which interface between the network interface controller and the network switch is connected, the port of the logical switch, Correspondence between the interface for the computer system of the network interface controller and the network port of the network switch The traffic management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a logical switch management unit that manages
6. At any timing, the information of the entry registered in the loopback table is read from the network interface controller, and the information of the entry registered in the forwarding table is read from the network switch and read. 6. The entry information registered in the loopback table and the entry information registered in the forwarding table are registered in corresponding entries of the logical forwarding table. Traffic management system.
7. 5. The logical switch management system according to claim 4, further comprising an OpenFlow interface that allows a user to implement an arbitrary network control application for controlling a network when the logical switch management system is a system that supports OpenFlow. The information indicating that the interface is for the computer system included in the information regarding the interface for the computer system acquired from the network interface controller for OpenFlow, and the flow acquired from the network interface controller for OpenFlow according to claim 4 Both the input port and the output port described in the entry are stored in the computer system interface based on the entry information stored in the table. 7. If it is an interface for a computer system and both are interfaces for the computer system, it is detected that the traffic is between computer systems sharing the network interface controller. A traffic management system according to any of the above.
8. One or more network interface controllers that send and receive information to and from one or more computer systems; one or more network switches that are connected to the network interface controller and send and receive information to and from external networks; and logic A logical switch configuration system constituting a switch, and each of the network interface controllers completes a transfer process in the network interface controller for traffic between one or more computer systems sharing the network interface controller. And having a mechanism for acquiring and managing the statistical information of the traffic, and the logical switch configuration system includes each network interface component. Traffic management method, characterized in that to obtain configuration information and statistics from the roller and the respective said network switch has a mechanism configured as one logical switch.
9. The network interface controller includes one or more computer system interfaces for sharing from one or more computer systems, one or more external network ports for connecting to an external network, and the computer system interface or A forwarding table that holds an output destination of a packet input from the external network port, and the computer system interface that receives the input packet as an output destination based on an output destination held by the forwarding table; A packet switching step for outputting to an external network port; identification information about traffic to which a packet flowing between the computer system interfaces belongs; 9. The traffic management according to claim 8, further comprising: a loopback table that holds total information; and a management step for acquiring information held by the loopback table from the logical switch management system. Method.
10. The logical switch management system is provided for managing information relating to network port identifiers and the number of network ports, flow identification information and statistical information provided for the network switch to input and output to an external network. A network switch management step of acquiring information relating to the number of entries in the forwarding table as configuration information of the network switch from the network switch; and an interface between computer system interfaces between the network interface controller and the computer system. Information relating to the number of entries in the loopback table provided for holding identification information and statistical information about the traffic to which the packet flowing through A network interface controller management step of acquiring information on the number of interfaces for a computer system provided for sharing from the above computer system as configuration information of the network interface controller from the network interface controller, the network interface controller, and the network interface controller A connection information management step for holding connection information indicating which interface is connected to the network switch; information on the number of entries in the forwarding table of the acquired network switch; and the acquired network interface controller From the information on the number of entries in the loopback table, the forwarding table entry of the logical switch A logical switch forwarding table management step for obtaining a number of birds and constituting a logical forwarding table; information on the obtained network port number to the network of the network switch; and the obtained number of interfaces for the computer system of the network interface controller A logical switch port management step for obtaining and managing the number of ports of the logical switch from the information and the connection information indicating which interface between the network interface controller and the network switch is connected; A port, the interface for the computer system of the network interface controller, and the network of the network switch. 10. The traffic management method according to claim 8, further comprising at least a logical switch management step for managing correspondence with the network port.

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