US 11,909,669 B2
Host input/output based load balancing on fibre channel N_port virtualizer switch uplinks
Harsha Bharadwaj, Bangalore (IN); and Santhosh Hanumana Gowda, Bangalore (IN)
Assigned to CISCO TECHNOLOGY, INC., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed by Cisco Technology, Inc., San Jose, CA (US)
Filed on Mar. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/705,994.
Application 17/705,994 is a continuation of application No. 16/531,324, filed on Aug. 5, 2019, granted, now 11,349,783.
Prior Publication US 2022/0217100 A1, Jul. 7, 2022
Int. Cl. H04L 49/356 (2022.01); G06F 13/40 (2006.01); H04L 43/16 (2022.01); H04L 67/1097 (2022.01); H04L 67/1001 (2022.01)
CPC H04L 49/357 (2013.01) [G06F 13/4022 (2013.01); H04L 43/16 (2013.01); H04L 67/1001 (2022.05); H04L 67/1097 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
measuring input/output traffic for respective hosts that are connected to a Fibre Channel N_Port Virtualizer switch, which is in communication with a first N_Port ID Virtualization core switch via a first port channel and with a second N_Port ID Virtualization core switch via a second port channel, wherein the first N_Port ID Virtualization core switch and the second N_Port ID Virtualization core switch are in communication with a same target device, wherein the first N_Port ID Virtualization core switch and the second N_Port ID Virtualization core switch have a first bandwidth capability and perform the measuring of the input/output traffic to obtain input/output traffic metrics, and the Fibre Channel N_Port Virtualizer switch has a second bandwidth capability lower than the first bandwidth capability;
receiving, from the first N_Port ID Virtualization core switch and the second N_Port ID Virtualization core switch, the input/output traffic metrics at the Fibre Channel N_Port Virtualizer switch;
determining, by the Fibre Channel N_Port Virtualizer switch, and based on the input/output traffic metrics, that a traffic imbalance existing between average uplink traffic carried on the first port channel between the Fibre Channel N_Port Virtualizer switch and the first N_Port ID Virtualization core switch and average uplink traffic carried on the second port channel between the Fibre Channel N_Port Virtualizer switch and the second N_Port ID Virtualization core switch exceeds a predetermined threshold; and
based on the determining, re-assigning, via fabric login operations, traffic from a given host carried on the first port channel to the second port channel between the Fibre Channel N_Port Virtualizer switch and the second N_Port ID Virtualization core switch,
wherein the re-assigning is based, at least in part, on an operational port speed of each of the first port channel and the second port channel, wherein an operational port speed of the first port channel is different from an operational port speed of the second port channel.