Methods and apparatus for improving load balancing in overlay networks
US9590820B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 2, 2011 |
| Grant date | Mar 7, 2017 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 22, 2032 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04L49/70
- WIPO fieldDigital communication
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
An apparatus includes a virtual switch hosted at a first network device. The virtual switch is configured to receive a data packet from a first virtual resource hosted at the first network device to be sent to a second virtual resource hosted at a second network device. The virtual switch is configured to encapsulate the data packet to define an encapsulated data packet using a tunnel header, which has a first portion associated with the first and second network devices, and a second portion associated with a data flow between the first and second virtual resources when the data packet is sent from the first network device to the second network device. An Internet Protocol network can use the second portion of the tunnel header to load balance the data packet with respect to other data packets sent from the first network device to the second network device.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.