IP Library Granted Patent US 10,764,213
Granted Patent B2
US 10,764,213 · App. 16/265,235 · Granted Sep 1, 2020

Switching fabric loop prevention system

Inventors: Charles Chul Hyun Park (San Jose, CA); Balaji Rajagopalan (Sunnyvale, CA); Joseph LaSalle White (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
H04L49/552H04L47/125H04L49/101H04L45/586H04L63/101
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 10,764,213
App. No.
16/265,235
Granted
Sep 1, 2020
Kind
B2
Abstract

A switching fabric loop prevention system includes first slave switch devices in a switching fabric that each automatically determine a first slave switch device role for themselves based on first directly connected device identification information received from a first directly connected device, and second slave switch devices in the switching fabric that each automatically determine a second slave switch device role for themselves based on second directly connected device identification information received from a second directly connected device. A master switch device in the switching fabric then configures each of the first slave switch devices having the first slave switch device role to prevent first type communications that have been received from one of the second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role.

Claims (46)

1. A switching fabric loop prevention system, comprising:

a plurality of first slave switch devices that are each included in a switching fabric and that are each configured to:

automatically determine a first slave switch device role for that first slave switch device based on first directly connected device identification information received from a first directly connected device;

a plurality of second slave switch devices that are each included in the switching fabric and that are each configured to:

automatically determine a second slave switch device role for that second slave switch device based on second directly connected device identification information received from a second directly connected device; and

a master switch device that is included in the switching fabric and that is configured to:

configure each of the plurality of first slave switch devices having the first slave switch device role to prevent first type communications that have been received from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first slave switch device role is a leaf switch device role.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the second slave switch device role is a spine switch device role.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the configuring the plurality of first slave switch devices having the first slave switch device role to prevent the first type communications that have been received from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role includes the master switch device:

providing, on each of the plurality of first slave switch devices having the first slave switch device role, at least one Access Control List (ACL) that prevents the first type communications that have been received from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of first slave switch devices is configured to:

load balance data traffic to the plurality of second slave switch devices.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the data traffic includes Broadcast, unknown Unicast, and Multicast (BUM) data traffic.

7. An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:

a processing system; and

a memory system that is coupled to the processing system and that includes instructions that, when executed by the processing system, cause the processing system to provide a switching fabric loop prevention engine that is configured to:

receive, from a directly connected device, directly connected device identification information;

automatically determine, based on the directly connected device identification information received from the directly connected device, a first slave switch device role for the IHS;

receive, from a master switch device, a first loop prevention configuration that configures the switching fabric loop prevention engine to prevent first type communications that have been received from one of a plurality of second slave switch devices having a second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role;

receive, from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having a second slave switch device role, a first type communication; and

prevent the first type communication from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role.

8. The IHS of claim 7 , wherein the first slave switch device role is a leaf switch device role.

9. The IHS of claim 7 , wherein the second slave switch device role is a spine switch device role.

10. The IHS of claim 7 , wherein the receiving the first loop prevention configuration that configures the switching fabric loop prevention engine to prevent first type communications that have been received from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role includes:

receiving, from the master switch, at least one Access Control List (ACL) that prevents the first type communications that have been received from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role.

11. The IHS of claim 7 , wherein the switching fabric loop prevention engine is configured to:

load balance data traffic to the plurality of second slave switch devices.

12. The IHS of claim 11 , wherein the data traffic includes Broadcast, unknown Unicast, and Multicast (BUM) data traffic.

13. The IHS of claim 11 , wherein the switching fabric loop prevention engine is configured to:

learn, from the data traffic, an address of the directly connected device.

14. A method for preventing loops in a switching fabric, comprising:

receiving, by a first slave switch device from a directly connected device, directly connected device identification information;

automatically determining, by the first slave switch device based on the directly connected device identification information received from the directly connected device, a first slave switch device role for the first slave switch device;

receiving, by the first slave switch device from a master switch device, a first loop prevention configuration that configures the first slave switch device to prevent first type communications that have been received from one of a plurality of second slave switch devices having a second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role;

receiving, by the first slave switch device from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having a second slave switch device role, a first type communication; and

preventing, by the first slave switch device, the first type communication from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the first slave switch device role is a leaf switch device role.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the second slave switch device role is a spine switch device role.

17. The method of claim 14 , wherein the receiving the first loop prevention configuration that configures the switching fabric loop prevention engine to prevent first type communications that have been received from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role includes:

receiving, by the first slave switch device from the master switch, at least one Access Control List (ACL) that prevents the first type communications that have been received from one of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role from being forwarded to another of the plurality of second slave switch devices having the second slave switch device role.

18. The method of claim 14 , further comprising:

load balancing, by the first slave switch device, data traffic to the plurality of second slave switch devices.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the data traffic includes Broadcast, unknown Unicast, and Multicast (BUM) data traffic.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

learning, by the first slave switch device from the data traffic, an address of the directly connected device.

Assignments (7)
RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST IN PATENTS PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL/FRAME (053546/0001) Recorded Jun 23, 2022
From: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., AS NOTES COLLATERAL AGENT
To: DELL MARKETING L.P. (ON BEHALF OF ITSELF AND AS SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.); DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; DELL MARKETING CORPORATION (SUCCESSOR-IN-INTEREST TO FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC. AND WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.); EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
Reel/Frame 071642/0001 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Oct 1, 2021
From: DELL PRODUCTS, L.P.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: CREDIT SUISSE AG, CAYMAN ISLANDS BRANCH
Reel/Frame 057682/0830 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Apr 22, 2020
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 053546/0001 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE CORRECT 1ST ASSIGNOR PREVIOUSLY RECORDED AT REEL: 050170 FRAME: 0160. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Aug 28, 2019
From: PARK, CHARLES CHUL HYUN; RAJAGOPALAN, BALAJI; WHITE, JOSEPH LASALLE
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 050206/0912 →
CORRECTIVE ASSIGNMENT TO CORRECT THE SPELLING OF THE FIRST ASSIGNOR'S NAME PREVIOUSLY RECORDED ON REEL 048221 FRAME 0696. ASSIGNOR(S) HEREBY CONFIRMS THE ASSIGNMENT. Recorded Aug 26, 2019
From: PARK, HARLES CHUL HYON; RAJAGOPALAN, BALAJI; WHITE, JOSEPH LASALLE
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 050170/0160 →
SECURITY AGREEMENT Recorded Mar 21, 2019
From: CREDANT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.; DELL INTERNATIONAL L.L.C.; DELL MARKETING L.P.; DELL PRODUCTS L.P.; DELL USA L.P.; EMC CORPORATION; FORCE10 NETWORKS, INC.; WYSE TECHNOLOGY L.L.C.; EMC IP HOLDING COMPANY LLC
To: THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A.
Reel/Frame 049452/0223 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 1, 2019
From: PARK, CHARLES CHUL HYON; RAJAGOPALAN, BALAJI; WHITE, JOSEPH LASALLE
To: DELL PRODUCTS L.P.
Reel/Frame 048221/0696 →