Granted Patent B1

US 12,744,748 · App. 18/491,565 · Granted Sep 22, 2026

Inventors: Michal Styszynski (Antony, FR); Mahesh Kumar Subramaniam (Fremont, CA)

Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP

H04L49/70H04L49/252H04L49/9068

Abstract

Claims (67)

1 . A network device comprising:

a plurality of interfaces;

processing circuitry; and

storage media comprising instructions executable by the processing circuitry to cause the network device to:

execute a master pod comprising one or more containers and a plurality of worker pods comprising one or more containers, wherein each of the plurality of worker pods is configured to execute a corresponding network Operating System (OS) instance of a plurality of network OS instances,

wherein the master pod is configured to assign each of the plurality of worker pods to a different, corresponding tenant of a plurality of tenants of a datacenter,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a different subset of the plurality of interfaces to each worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, and

wherein each network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances is configured to manage forwarding of network traffic associated with the corresponding tenant and received via the corresponding subset of the plurality of interfaces allocated to the worker pod of the plurality of worker pods that is configured to execute the network OS instance.

2 . The network device of claim 1 ,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a first subset of the plurality of interfaces to a first worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the first worker pod configured to execute a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the first subset comprising one or more physical Ethernet interfaces, and

wherein the first network OS instance is configured to forward network traffic received via the first subset to a second network device via the one or more physical Ethernet interfaces of the first subset.

3 . The network device of claim 1 ,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a first subset of the plurality of interfaces to a first worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the first worker pod configured to execute a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the first subset comprising one or more first logical interfaces,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a second subset of the plurality of interfaces to a second worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the second worker pod configured to execute a second network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the second subset comprising one or more second logical interfaces, and

wherein the first network OS instance is configured to forward network traffic received via the first subset to the second network OS instance via the one or more first logical interfaces of the first subset and the one or more second logical interfaces of the second subset.

4 . The network device of claim 1 ,

wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to assign, to a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, a logical identifier (ID), and

wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to:

select, based at least in part on a first switch fabric of a plurality of switch fabrics being assigned a logical ID that is the same as the logical ID assigned to the first network OS instance, the first switch fabric for forwarding network traffic of the first network OS instance; and

forward, to the first switch fabric, the network traffic for the first network OS instance.

5 . The network device of claim 4 , wherein the logical ID comprises a color.

6 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein each network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances is configured to manage the forwarding of network traffic received via only the respective subset of the plurality of interfaces allocated to the network OS instance and not via other interfaces of the plurality of interfaces.

7 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of network OS instances comprise one or more of:

multiple instances of a same version of a network OS;

multiple instances of different versions of the network OS; or

multiple instances of different network OSs.

8 . The network device of claim 1 , wherein the network device comprises a Top of Rack (TOR) switch.

9 . The network device of claim 1 ,

wherein the network device comprises a chassis switching system comprising a plurality of line cards, and

wherein each of the plurality of line cards comprises a different one of the subsets of the plurality of interfaces.

10 . A method comprising:

executing, by a network device, a master pod comprising one or more containers and a plurality of worker pods comprising one or more containers, wherein each of the plurality of worker pods is configured to execute a corresponding a plurality of network Operating System (OS) instance of a plurality of network OS instances;

assigning, by the master pod, each of the plurality of worker pods to a different, corresponding tenant of a plurality of tenants of a datacenter;

allocating, by the master pod, a different subset of a plurality of interfaces of the network device to each worker pod of the plurality of worker pods; and

managing, by each network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances executed by the network device, forwarding of network traffic associated with the corresponding tenant and received via the corresponding subset of the plurality of interfaces allocated to the worker pod of the plurality of worker pods that is configured to execute the network OS instance.

11 . The method of claim 10 ,

wherein allocating a different subset of the plurality of interfaces of the network device to each worker pod of the plurality of worker pods comprises allocating a first subset of the plurality of interfaces to a first worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the first worker pod configured to execute a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the first subset comprising one or more physical Ethernet interfaces, and

wherein managing the forwarding of network traffic comprises forwarding, by the first network OS instance, network traffic received via the first subset to a second network device via the one or more physical Ethernet interfaces of the first subset.

12 . The method of claim 10 ,

wherein allocating a different subset of the plurality of interfaces of the network device to each worker pod of the plurality of worker pods comprises:

allocating a first subset of the plurality of interfaces to a first worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the first worker pod configured to execute a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the first subset comprising one or more first logical interfaces and

allocating a second subset of the plurality of interfaces to a second worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the second worker pod configured to execute a second network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the second subset comprising one or more second logical interfaces, and

wherein managing the forwarding of network traffic comprises forwarding, by the first network OS instance network traffic received via the first subset to the second network OS instance via the one or more first logical interfaces of the first subset and the one or more second logical interfaces of the second subset.

13 . The method of claim 10 ,

wherein the method further comprises assigning, by the network device and to a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, a logical identifier (ID), and

wherein, exchanging the network traffic comprises:

selecting, based at least in part on a first switch fabric of a plurality of switch fabrics being assigned a logical ID that is the same as the logical ID assigned to the first network OS instance, the first switch fabric for forwarding network traffic of the first network OS instance; and

forwarding, to the first switch fabric, the network traffic for the first network OS instance.

14 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the logical ID comprises a color.

15 . The method of claim 10 , wherein managing the forwarding of network traffic comprises managing, by each network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the forwarding of network traffic received via only the respective subset of the plurality of interfaces allocated to the network OS instance and not via other interfaces of the plurality of interfaces.

16 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of network OS instances comprise one or more of:

multiple instances of a same version of a network OS;

multiple instances of different versions of the network OS; or

multiple instances of different network OSs.

17 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the network device comprises a Top of Rack (TOR) switch.

18 . Non-transitory, computer-readable media comprising instructions executable to cause processing circuitry of a network device to:

execute a master pod comprising one or more containers and a plurality of worker pods comprising one or more containers, wherein each of the plurality of worker pods is configured to execute a corresponding network Operating System (OS) instance of a plurality of network OS instances,

wherein the master pod is configured to assign each of the plurality of worker pods to a different, corresponding tenant of a plurality of tenants of a datacenter,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a different subset of the plurality of interfaces to each worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, and

wherein each network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances is configured to manage forwarding of network traffic associated with the corresponding tenant and received via the corresponding subset of the plurality of interfaces allocated to the worker pod of the plurality of worker pods that is configured to execute the network OS instance.

19 . The non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 18 ,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a first subset of the plurality of interfaces to a first worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the first worker pod configured to execute a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the first subset comprising one or more physical Ethernet interfaces, and

wherein the first network OS instance is configured to forward network traffic received via the first subset to a second network device via the one or more physical Ethernet interfaces of the first subset.

20 . The non-transitory, computer-readable media of claim 18 ,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a first subset of the plurality of interfaces to a first worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the first worker pod configured to execute a first network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the first subset comprising one or more first logical interfaces,

wherein the master pod is configured to allocate a second subset of the plurality of interfaces to a second worker pod of the plurality of worker pods, the second worker pod configured to execute a second network OS instance of the plurality of network OS instances, the second subset comprising one or more second logical interfaces, and

wherein the first network OS instance is configured to forward network traffic received via the first subset to the second network OS instance via the one or more first logical interfaces of the first subset and the one or more second logical interfaces of the second subset.

References Cited (10)