Network Tracing for Data Centers

Abstract

Network devices facilitate network tracing using tracing packets that travel through the network devices. The network devices may be switches, routers, bridges, hubs, or any other network device. The network tracing may include sending tracing packets down each of multiple routed paths between a source and a destination, at each hop through the network, or through a selected subset of the paths between a source and a destination. The network devices may add tracing information to the tracing packets, which an analysis system may review to determine characteristics of the network and the characteristics of the potentially many paths between a source and a destination.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A device comprising:
 a communication interface configured to receive a plurality of network tracing packets transmitted by a switching device over a multi-path multi-hop network, the network tracing packets transmitted by the switching device as outgoing tracing packets along a plurality of different routing communication paths for receipt by a same destination device; and   analysis logic circuitry configured to analyze tracing information included in each of the plurality of received network tracing packets to develop a coverage pattern of possible communication paths in the multi-path multi-hop network to the same destination device, the tracing information added to the tracing packets at each of a plurality of respective switching devices forming part of the respective different routing communication paths;   the analysis logic circuitry further configured to generate an adaptation command based on the tracing information received in the network tracing packets, the adaptation command executable by network device to tune performance of the network device; and   the communication interface configured to transmit the adaptation command over the multi-path multi-hop network for receipt by the network device.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the adaptation command comprises a command to change an operational setting of the network device, the change of the operational setting of the network device dynamically determined by the analysis logic circuitry based on the tracing information received in the network tracing packets. 
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the adaptation command comprises a command to change a minimum buffer level and a maximum buffer level for the network device, the change in the minimum and maximum buffer levels dynamically determined by the analysis logic circuitry based on the tracing information received in the network tracing packets. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the adaptation command comprises a command to change packet handling parameters for the network device, the change in the packet handling parameters dynamically determined by the analysis logic circuitry based on the tracing information received in the network tracing packets. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the device comprises said same destination device, and the network device comprises the switching device. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the tracing information for each of the plurality of respective switching devices comprises sensor inputs indicative of operating conditions of the respective network devices and status inputs indicative of operating status of the respective network devices. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the network device is one of the plurality of respective switching devices. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the adaptation command is executable by the network device to cause a change in processing of network packets by the network device. 
     
     
         9 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the adaptation command comprises a request for additional tracing information from the network device. 
     
     
         10 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the network device comprises a plurality of network devices, and the adaptation command is unicast, broadcast, or multicast for delivery to the plurality of network devices. 
     
     
         11 . A method comprising:
 receiving, at an application server, a plurality of network tracing packets transmitted in a network, from a switching device, as outgoing tracing packets along a plurality of different routing communication paths for receipt by a same destination device;   analyzing, by the application server, respective tracing information added to the tracing packets by respective switching devices forming the different routing communication paths;   generating by the application server, an adaptation command, the adaptation command for execution by a network device to tune performance of the network device in accordance with the analysis of the respective tracing information; and   transmitting, by the application server, the adaptation command over the network for receipt by the network device.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising developing, by the application server, a coverage pattern of possible communication paths in the network to the same destination device according to the respective tracing information. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein analyzing comprises determining characteristics of specific routing communication paths through the network based on the respective tracing information. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein receiving comprises recognizing a received packet as one of the network tracing packets by locating a predetermined data pattern or identifier in the received packet. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein analyzing comprises generating a user dashboard interface to visualize a coverage pattern of possible communication paths based on the respective tracing information. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein analyzing comprises generating a latency graph for a user dashboard interface, the latency graph illustrating latency along at least one of the different routing communication paths based on the respective tracing information. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein analyzing comprises generating a network topology map for a user dashboard interface, the network topology map generated based on the respective tracing information. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein generating by the application server an adaptation command comprises controlling, with the adaptation command, a degree or extent of network tracing performed by the network device based on the respective tracing information. 
     
     
         19 . A device comprising:
 a communication interface configured to receive a plurality of network tracing packets over a multi-path multi-hop network, the network tracing packets transmitted from a switching device as outgoing tracing packets along a plurality of different routing communication paths for receipt by a same destination device; and   analysis logic circuitry configured to analyze tracing information included in each of the network tracing packets to generate a user dashboard interface comprising operational information, the tracing information added to the tracing packets at each of a plurality of respective switching devices forming part of the respective different routing communication paths, and the operational information being indicative of operation of the respective switching devices within the multi-path multi-hop network;   the analysis logic circuitry further configured to generate an adaptation command based on the tracing information received in the network tracing packets, the adaptation command executable by one of the respective switching devices to adjust processing of packets by the one of the respective switching devices; and   the communication interface configured to transmit the adaptation command over the multi-path multi-hop network for receipt by the one of the respective switching devices.   
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 19 , wherein the analysis logic circuitry is further configured to develop a coverage pattern of possible communication paths in the multi-path multi-hop network between the switching device and the same destination device, and generate a topology map indicative of the possible communication paths for the user dashboard interface.