Patent ID: 9059922
Filing Date: 2015-06-16
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method in a switching network including a plurality of switches, the method comprising: an sFlow controller receiving sFlow datagrams from multiple of the plurality of switches coupled to different network links of the switching network; based on the sFlow datagrams, the sFlow controller generating topological congestion information for a recipient switch among the plurality of switches and transmitting the topological congestion information to the recipient switch, wherein the topological congestion information identifies one or more forwarding paths of the recipient switch that are experiencing higher congestion relative to other forwarding paths of the recipient switch; receiving data traffic at the recipient switch, wherein the recipient switch includes a physical platform, a plurality of ports for communicating data traffic, data storage including a Layer 2 forwarding information base, and a switch controller that controls switching of data traffic between the plurality of ports by reference to the Layer 2 forwarding information base and includes an sFlow client; the sFlow client of the switch controller receiving the topological congestion information from the sFlow controller; the switch controller selecting a Layer 2 forwarding path for the data traffic from among multiple possible forwarding paths then available and reachable from the recipient switch based on at least the received topological congestion information; and the switch controller updating the Layer 2 forwarding information base based on the selected forwarding path and a Layer 2 destination address for the data traffic.