CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a national stage of International Application No. PCT/IB2016/052643, filed May 9, 2016, which is hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of software defined networking (SDN). More specifically, the embodiments relate to the management of switches in SDNs to reduce the amount of traffic between the switches and a controller of the SDN.

BACKGROUND

Software defined networking (SDN) is an architecture for computer networking that shifts many of the operations of network devices to a centralized controller. This enables network administrators to manage services in the SDN network more centrally and decreases the cost and complexity of the network devices. SDN networks decouple the control plane and the dataplane such that they do not have to be implemented by the same device.

Protocols are utilized to enable communication with and configuration of the network devices in the SDN network. Examples of such protocols include the OpenFlow protocol, the Open Network Environment and the Network Virtualization Platform. These protocols enable a controller that is remote from the network devices of the SDN to communicate with the network devices providing control plane functionality and to configure the network devices to implement the dataplane functions and policies desired by a network administrator.

In an SDN network, the network devices that implement the dataplane process received data packets by using a set of flow control policies that may be implemented via a flow control table, where the flow table includes a set of matching criteria to recognize relevant data in the data packet and trigger a set of actions to process the packet such as forwarding the packet on an identified port toward a destination. In some cases, the data packets are forwarded to the SDN controller for further processing. Often the data packets forwarded by the network device to the SDN controller require some type of response be sent to the network device that sent or originated the received data packet. In this case, the SDN controller receives the forwarded message and returns a response message to the network device that in turn forwards that message towards a sender of the received data packet.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a method is provided for inline packet response generation implemented by a network device functioning as a switch in a software defined networking (SDN) network. The method configures the flow control pipeline to enable the inline response generation without use of the control channel and SDN controller after configuration. The method includes connecting with the SDN controller, receiving a data packet from SDN controller with a template message and a buffer identifier (ID) for the template message, and identifying the received data packet as containing the template message. The method further includes installing the template message into a buffer with corresponding buffer ID, receiving a data packet from the SDN controller identifying matching criteria and the buffer ID, and updating a flow control pipeline to match on the matching criteria and to point to the buffer with the buffer ID.

In another embodiment, a network device is configured to execute the method for inline packet response generation. The network device functions as a switch in the SDN network. The method configures the flow control pipeline to enable the inline response generation without use of the control channel and SDN controller after configuration. The network device includes a non-transitory machine readable medium having stored therein an inline packet response generator, and a processor coupled to the non-transitory machine readable medium. The processor executes the inline packet response generator causing the network device to connect with the SDN controller, to receive a data packet from SDN controller with a template message and a buffer identifier (ID) for the template message, to identify the received data packet as containing the template message, to install the template message into a buffer with corresponding buffer ID, to receive a data packet from the SDN controller identifying matching criteria and the buffer ID, and to update a flow control pipeline to match on the matching criteria and to point to the buffer with the buffer ID.

In one embodiment, a computing device is configured to execute a plurality of virtual machines. The plurality of virtual machines implement network function virtualization (NFV). The computing device is in communication with a network device. The network device is in the SDN network. The network device is configured to implement the method for inline packet response generation. The network device functions as a switch in the SDN network. The method configures the flow control pipeline to enable the inline response generation without use of the control channel and SDN controller after configuration. The network device includes a non-transitory machine readable medium having stored therein an inline packet response generator, and a processor coupled to the non-transitory machine readable medium. The processor executes the inline packet response generator causing the network device to connect with the SDN controller, to receive a data packet from SDN controller with a template message and a buffer identifier (ID) for the template message, to identify the received data packet as containing the template message, to install the template message into a buffer with corresponding buffer ID, to receive a data packet from the SDN controller identifying matching criteria and the buffer ID, and to update a flow control pipeline to match on the matching criteria and to point to the buffer with the buffer ID.

In a further embodiment, a control plane device is configured to implement a control plane of a software defined networking (SDN) network including a network device. The network device is configured to implement a method for inline packet response generation. The network device functions as a switch in the SDN network. The method configures the flow control pipeline to enable the inline response generation without use of the control channel and SDN controller after configuration. The network device includes a non-transitory machine readable medium having stored therein an inline packet response manager, and a processor coupled to the non-transitory machine readable medium. The processor executes the inline packet response manager to connect with the switch, to determine a configuration for the switch, and to send a configuration message with a template message a buffer identifier (ID) to the switch.

