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DE-102025145746-A1 - TEST PACKAGE OVERLOAD CONTROL

DE102025145746A1DE 102025145746 A1DE102025145746 A1DE 102025145746A1DE-102025145746-A1

Abstract

Facilities, systems, computing devices, switches, network endpoints, and methods for handling test packets. In at least one embodiment, test packets are handled in a more time-efficient manner compared to non-test packets by identifying test packets and directing them to special queues.

Inventors

  • Eran Gil Beracha
  • Aviv Kfir
  • Liron Mula
  • Ilya Vershkov

Assignees

  • MELLANOX TECHNOLOGIES LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251106
Priority Date
20241112

Claims (20)

  1. A computing system comprising one or more processing circuits for: determining that a packet is a test packet, wherein the packet contains an initial Quality of Service (QoS) value; and in response to determining that the packet is a test packet: storing the initial QoS value in memory; Writing a second QoS value to the packet; directing the packet to a first queue associated with the second QoS value; and storing a feature of a second queue associated with the first QoS value in the packet.
  2. computer system of the Claim 1 , where the packet is received from a network location.
  3. Computing system according to Claim 1 or 2 , where determining that the package is a check package involves using a lookup engine.
  4. Computing system according to Claim 3 , where the lookup machine comprises ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM) and a database.
  5. Computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the second QoS value specifies a priority QoS.
  6. Computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein directing the packet to a first queue comprises mapping the second QoS value to the first queue.
  7. Computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first queue is a priority queue.
  8. Computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein storing the feature of the second queue includes searching for the feature in a database.
  9. Computing system according to Claim 8 , where the database stores characteristics of a large number of queues.
  10. Computing system according to Claim 9 , whereby the database refreshes the characteristics of the multitude of queues at specific time intervals.
  11. Computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the feature of the second queue is a fill level of the second queue.
  12. Computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the one or more processing circuits further store an indication of an input port and an output port in the packet.
  13. Computing system according to a preceding claim, wherein the one or more processing circuits are further said to transfer the packet to a destination after storing the feature of the second queue.
  14. Computing system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first QoS value is assigned to a first flow and the second QoS value is assigned to a second flow.
  15. Computing system according to Claim 14 , where directing the packet to the first queue associated with the second QoS value includes identifying the second flow and mapping the second flow to the first queue.
  16. A switch comprising one or more processing circuits for: determining that a packet is a check packet, where the packet contains a first Quality of Service (QoS) value; and in response to determining that the packet is a check packet: storing the first QoS value in memory; writing a second QoS value to the packet; directing the packet to a first queue associated with a second QoS value; and storing a feature of a second queue associated with the first QoS value to the packet.
  17. Switch to Claim 16 , where the packet is received from a network location.
  18. Switch to Claim 16 or 17 , where determining that the package is a check package involves using a lookup engine.
  19. Switch to Claim 18 , where the lookup machine comprises ternary content-addressable memory (TCAM) and a database.
  20. A procedure comprising the following: Determining that a packet is a test packet, wherein the packet includes a first Quality of Service (QoS) value; and in response to determining that the packet is a test packet: Store the first QoS value in memory; Write a second QoS value into the packet; Direct the packet to a first queue associated with the second QoS value; and Store a feature of a second queue associated with the first QoS value in the packet.

Description

TECHNICAL AREA At least one embodiment relates generally to a hardware processing device and in particular to networking devices and methods for operating it. BACKGROUND Switches and similar network devices are a core component of many communication, security, and computing networks. Test packets are sent to switches to gather information about their performance. Switches receive these test packets and respond to them after a certain period of time. The amount of time required for a switch to handle these test packets contributes to the overall network performance, meaning that delays in processing test packets result in degraded network performance. SUMMARY The invention is defined by the claims. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, aspects and embodiments that may not fall within the scope of the claims may be described herein. In a network, test packets are used to gather information about the health and performance of network elements, such as switches and other computing devices. Test packets can be sent across a network to collect information that can be used to monitor and/or diagnose the good health of the network and performance problems of the computing devices within the network. Test packets can be generated by a network management tool running on a network device. Test packets can include data in such a way that when a test packet is received by a computing device, such as a switch, the receiving device is able to respond to the test packet by appending specific data to it. The specific data appended to the test packet can depend on the type of information the test packet is intended to retrieve. Such test packets can be used by congestion control algorithms to gather information about the network state. The information gathered might include, for example, round-trip time, switch congestion, congestion per port, congestion per outbound queue within a switch's outbound port, and/or other factors. The goal of a test packet can be to collect this information and send it back to the sender as quickly as possible. One problem that arises with traditional networking equipment is congestion, which can affect a switch or other computing device in the network and cause a delay in the time it takes for a check packet to be sent back to its sender or another destination. For example, a congested switch might have deep queues that increase check packet latency. Such problems result in suboptimal congestion control performance due to inaccurate or outdated information. The systems and methods described herein reduce the amount of time a scan packet spends traversing a network by manipulating how the scan packet is queued within the switches where the scan packet gathers information, resulting in improved performance. The output ports of a switch or other computing device are mapped to output queues such that each port is assigned a number of distinct queues. Each queue assigned to a port can correspond to a different Quality of Service (QoS) value. Each packet received by such a switch or other computing device can be mapped to a specific queue based on the packet's QoS, thus prioritizing some packets over others. The systems and procedures described herein control the handling of test packages in such a way that the test packages are allowed to collect information at an overloaded outbound queue while being placed on a priority queue, resulting in lower latency and shorter queuing time for the test packages. According to one or more embodiments described herein, a computing device, which may include one or more switches, is described. According to at least some embodiments, the congestion problem affecting a switch or other computing device in the network can cause a delay in the amount of time that a A check packet requires time to be sent back to its sender or another destination. For example, an overloaded switch may have deep queues that increase check packet latency. Such problems result in suboptimal congestion control performance due to inaccurate, outdated information. Embodiments of the present disclosure provided herein describe a solution capable of reducing the amount of time a check packet spends traversing a network by manipulating how the check packet is queued within the switches where it gathers information, resulting in improved network performance. Embodiments of the present disclosure consider a multi-component solution, some of which may be implemented on a switch or other computing device. According to at least one embodiment, a computing device is configured to control the handling of test packets such that the test packets are able to collect information at an overloaded output queue while being placed in a priority queue, resulting in lower latency and reduced queue time for test packets. Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure provide a computing system that includes one or more processing circuits for: determining that a packet is a test packet, wherein the packet i