Patent ID: 11923996
Assignee: NICIRA, INC.
Field: Digital communication (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H | IPC H

Claim 7:
8. A method of implementing logical networks on a plurality of shared managed forwarding elements of a shared physical network, the method comprising:
configuring a plurality of software forwarding elements executing on a first plurality of host computers to implement a logical forwarding element of an overlay logical network that is defined over the shared physical network and that is established by encapsulating at least some of the packets exchanged between the first plurality of host computers with overlay tunnel encapsulating headers, the first plurality of host computers executing a first plurality of machines connected to the overlay logical network; and
to connect a second plurality of machines executing on a second plurality of host computers that do not have software forwarding elements configured as one or more logical forwarding elements of the logical network, configuring a set of top-of-rack (TOR) switches to be part of the logical network so as to connect the first and second plurality of machines, said set of TOR switches (i) communicatively coupled to the second plurality of host computers and (ii) serving as a bridge between machines executing on the first plurality of host computers that execute forwarding elements that implement the logical network and the second plurality of host computers that do not execute forwarding elements that implement the logical network,
wherein the second plurality of host computers do not encapsulate packets that they transmit to the set of TOR switches with overlay tunnel headers for the logical network.