Network forwarding element with key-value processing in the data plane
US11463381B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 6, 2020 |
| Grant date | Oct 4, 2022 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 19, 2040 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/3009
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Some embodiments of the invention provide a forwarding element (e.g., a switch, a router, etc.) that has one or more data plane, message-processing pipelines with key-value processing circuits. The forwarding element's data plane key-value circuits allow the forwarding element to perform key-value services that would otherwise have to be performed by data compute nodes connected by the network fabric that includes the forwarding element. In some embodiments, the key-value (KV) services of the forwarding element and other similar forwarding elements supplement the key-value services of a distributed set of key-value servers by caching a subset of the most commonly used key-value pairs in the forwarding elements that connect the set of key-value servers with their client applications. In some embodiments, the key-value circuits of the forwarding element perform the key-value service operations at message-processing line rates at which the forwarding element forwards messages to the data compute nodes and/or to other network forwarding elements in the network fabric.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.