Method and apparatus for providing network virtualization
US7515589B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 27, 2004 |
| Grant date | Apr 7, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 5, 2026 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L41/0897
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A network virtualization layer for an information handling system in which a physical machine coupled to a network is divided into a plurality of logical partitions, each of which has a host system residing thereon. In response to receiving a set command from one of the host systems specifying a data link layer (layer 2) address, the virtualization layer associates the data link layer address with the host system and forwards to the host system data packets specifying the data link layer address as a destination address. Unicast packets are forwarded to the single host system specifying the destination address as an individual MAC address, while multicast packets are forwarded to each host system specifying the destination address as a group MAC address. A host system may also specify a virtual LAN (VLAN) ID, which is used to scope the forwarding of packets to host systems sharing that VLAN ID.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.