Patent ID: 9001827
Filing Date: 2015-04-07
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of using a controller server to provide network switches in a network with flow table entries, wherein each network switch processes packets by comparing packet fields to fields in the flow table entries, the method comprising: with the controller server, categorizing some of the network switches as being edge network switches and some of the network switches as being non-edge switches; with the controller server, querying the network switches to identify capacities of the network switches for handling flow table entries; and with the controller server, generating and distributing different flow table entries to the network switches that have been categorized as the edge network switches than the network switches that have been categorized as the non-edge switches based on the identified capacities of the network switches for handling flow table entries, wherein distributing the flow table entries comprises distributing a first portion of the flow table entries with only complete fields to the edge switches and a second portion of the flow table entries with at least some wildcarded fields to the non-edge switches without distributing the first portion of the flow table entries to the non-edge switches and without distributing the second portion of the flow table entries to the edge switches.