Network Interface Card, Computing Device, and Data Packet Processing Method

Abstract

In a data packet processing method applied to a computing device in SDN, after receiving a data packet of a data flow, a NIC queries a flow table set according to matching information of the data packet; and if a flow table is obtained from the flow table set the NIC processes the data packet according to the flow table; or if no flow table can be obtained from the flow table set, the NIC sends the data packet to a virtual switch to obtain a flow table corresponding to the data flow, and saves the flow table into the flow table set, so that the NIC can process a subsequent data packet of the data flow.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method implemented by a physical network interface card (NIC) of a computing device, the method comprising:
 receiving, from a virtual machine (VM) running on a host of the computing device, a first data packet of a data flow, wherein the first data packet comprises first matching information;   querying a flow table set according to the first matching information;   obtaining, from the flow table set, a first flow table corresponding to the first matching information; and   processing the first data packet according to the first flow table.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising connecting to the VM through a single-root input/output virtualization (SR-I/OV) technology. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising performing a security group check on the first data packet. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising encapsulating an overlay header for the first data packet. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein before receiving the first data packet, the method further comprises receiving a second data packet of the data flow, wherein the second data packet comprises second matching information. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising querying the flow table set according to the second matching information. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , further comprising forwarding the second data packet to a virtual switch running on the host when a second flow table corresponding to the second matching information cannot be obtained from the flow table set. 
     
     
         8 . A computing device comprising:
 a host comprising a virtual machine (VM) configured to send a first data packet of a data flow, wherein the first data packet comprises first matching information; and   a physical network interface card (NIC) configured to:
 receive, from the VM, the first data packet, 
 query a flow table set according to the first matching information, 
 obtain, from the flow table set, a first flow table corresponding to the first matching information, and 
 process the first data packet according to the first flow table. 
   
     
     
         9 . The host of  claim 8 , wherein the physical NIC is further configured to connect to the VM through a single-root input/output virtualization (SR-I/OV) technology. 
     
     
         10 . The host of  claim 8 , wherein the physical NIC is further configured to perform a security group check on the first data packet. 
     
     
         11 . The host of  claim 8 , wherein the physical NIC is configured to encapsulate an overlay header for the first data packet. 
     
     
         12 . The host of  claim 8 , wherein before receiving the first data packet, the physical NIC is further configured to receive a second data packet of the data flow, wherein the second data packet comprises second matching information. 
     
     
         13 . The host of  claim 12 , wherein the physical NIC is further configured to query the flow table set according to the second matching information. 
     
     
         14 . The host of  claim 13 , wherein the host comprises a virtual switch, and wherein the physical NIC is further configured to forward the second data packet to the virtual switch when a second flow table corresponding to the second matching information cannot be obtained from the flow table set. 
     
     
         15 . A physical network interface card (NIC) comprising:
 a host interface configured to:
 receive, from a virtual machine (VM) running on a host, a first data packet of a data flow, and 
 send the first data packet; and 
   a processing chip configured to:
 receive the first data packet from the host interface, 
 query a flow table set according to the first matching information, 
 obtain, from the flow table set, a first flow table corresponding to the first matching information, and 
 process the first data packet according to the first flow table. 
   
     
     
         16 . The physical NIC of  claim 15 , wherein the host interface is further configured to connect to the VM through a single-root input/output virtualization (SR-I/OV) technology. 
     
     
         17 . The physical NIC of  claim 15 , wherein the processing chip is further configured to perform a security group check on the first data packet. 
     
     
         18 . The physical NIC of  claim 15 , wherein the processing chip is further configured to encapsulate an overlay header for the first data packet. 
     
     
         19 . The physical NIC of  claim 15 , wherein before receiving the first data packet, the processing chip is further configured to:
 receive a second data packet of the data flow, wherein the second data packet comprises second matching information;   query the flow table set according to the second matching information; and   forward the second data packet to the host interface when a second flow table corresponding to the second matching information cannot be obtained from the flow table set.   
     
     
         20 . The physical NIC of  claim 19 , wherein the host interface is thriller configured to forward the second data packet to a virtual switch running on the host.