Patent ID: 9166923
Filing Date: 2015-10-20
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: receiving, by software-defined networking (SDN) switching device connected to an SDN virtual network implemented on a physical network, a data packet from a source node of the SDN virtual network intended for a destination node of the SDN virtual network, the data packet formatted in accordance with an SDN protocol, an SDN control device connected to the SDN virtual network, the SDN virtual network having at least a data channel and a control channel, the SDN switching device connected to the data channel and not to the control channel to communicate data over the SDN virtual network, the SDN controller device connected to the control channel and not to the data channel to communicate control information over the SDN virtual network; encapsulating, by the SDN switching device, the data packet within a tunneling data packet formatted in accordance with an open systems interconnection (OSI) model protocol; copying, by the SDN switching device, congestion notification metadata from a header of the data packet to a header of the tunneling data packet; and transmitting, by the SDN switching device, the tunneling data packet through the physical network, towards the destination node of the SDN virtual network, wherein the data packet is tunneled through the physical network from the source node of the SDN virtual network to the destination node of the SDN virtual network via being encapsulated within the tunneling data packet, wherein the congestion notification metadata is considered control information that is communicated over the data channel within the system using the switching device and that normally would be communicated over the control channel within the system using the SDN controller device.