Apparatus for switching traffic between virtual machines
US8537860B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 3, 2009 |
| Grant date | Sep 17, 2013 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 25, 2031 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L45/586
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Systems for switching traffic include a physical machine running source and destination virtual machines (VMs). The source VM issues a data unit addressed to the destination VM. The physical machine has a physical network interface in communication with the VMs. The physical network interface transmits a sub-packet, which includes a partial portion of the data unit, over a network while a majority portion of the data unit remains at the physical machine. A network switch on the network receives the sub-packet transmitted by the physical network interface. The network switch performs one or more OSI Layer 2 through Layer 7 switching functions on the sub-packet and returns that sub-packet to the physical network interface. The physical network interface identifies the data unit stored in the memory in response to the sub-packet returned from the network switch and forwards the identified data unit to the destination VM.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.