PCI express load sharing network interface controller cluster
US8503468B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 5, 2008 |
| Grant date | Aug 6, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 24, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F13/385
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Embodiments provide load balancing in a virtual computing environment comprising a plurality of PCI-Express switches (the PCIe switching cloud) coupled to a plurality of network interface devices (NICs). An NIC cluster is added between the PCIe switching cloud and the NICs. The NIC cluster is configured to hide NICs from system images and allow the system images to access functions across multiple NICs. The NIC cluster of an embodiment dynamically load balances network resources by performing a hashing function on a header field of received packets. The NIC cluster of an embodiment performs load balancing and state management in association with driver software, which is embedded in the system image. The driver software adds a tag for flow identification to downstream data packets. The NIC cluster distributes data packets based on information in the tag.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.