Network fabric overlay

US9876715B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Cisco Technology, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Thomas J. Edsall · Los Gatos, US
• Navindra Yadav · San Jose, US
• Francisco M. Matus · Saratoga, US
• Kit Chiu Chu · Fremont, US
• Michael R. Smith · Chicago, US
• Sameer Merchant · Sunnyvale, US
• Krishna Doddapaneni · Sunnyvale, US
• Satyam Sinha · Sunnyvale, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Oct 31, 2014
• Grant date: Jan 23, 2018
• Expiry date: Jan 21, 2035

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G06F2009/45595
• WIPO field: Digital communication
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

Disclosed herein are methods of forwarding packets on a network, such as a leaf-spine network having leaf devices and spine devices. The methods may include receiving a packet at an ingress leaf device, and determining based, at least in part, on a header of the packet whether the packet is to be transmitted to a spine device. The methods may further include ascertaining based, at least in part, on a header of the packet whether to perform encapsulation on the packet, encapsulating the packet according to a result of the ascertaining, and then transmitting the packet to a spine device according to a result of the determining. Also disclosed herein are network apparatuses which include a processor and a memory, at least one of the processor or the memory being configured to perform some or all of the foregoing described methods.