EP-4738776-A2 - REDUCED CONFIGURATION FOR MULTI-STAGE NETWORK FABRICS

Abstract

A method includes deploying a network device within a fabric having a management network by attaching the network device through the management network to a port of a role allocator, wherein the role allocator includes one or more ports designated as first level port connections and one or more other ports designated as second level port connections. If the deployed network device is attached to one of the ports designated as first level port connections, the deployed network device is configured as a first level device. If the deployed network device is attached to one of the ports designated as second level port connections, the deployed network device is configured as a second level device.

Inventors

• KAPUR, SUKHDEV S.
• HENKEL, MICHAEL

Assignees

• Juniper Networks, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20190620

Claims (15)

1. A computer-implemented method performed by a network device comprising: establishing a network connection through a management port of the network device to a role allocator, wherein the role allocator includes one or more ports designated as spine node type ports and one or more other ports designated as leaf node type ports; identifying, via the network connection, a type of role allocator port to which the network device is connected; and configuring the network device based on the identified type of role allocator port.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the type of role allocator port to which the network device is connected includes determining that the network device is connected to one of the spine node type ports; and wherein configuring the network device includes configuring the network device as a spine node.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the type of role allocator port to which the network device is connected includes determining that the network device is connected to one of the leaf node type ports; and wherein configuring the network device includes configuring the network device as a leaf node.
4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein establishing the network connection includes: establishing the network connection through a management network.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein identifying the type of role allocator port includes: determining, via a packet received over the management network, a port number assigned to the port of the role allocator to which the network device is connected.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein identifying the type of role allocator port further includes: determining, based on the port number, whether the network device is connected to a spine node type port or to a leaf node type port.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein configuring the network device includes: configuring the network device as a spine node.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein configuring the network device includes: configuring the network device as a leaf node.
9. A network device comprising: a plurality of network ports, each of the network ports capable of being coupled to a fabric; storage media; and processing circuitry coupled to the storage media and configured to: establish a network connection through the fabric to a role allocator, wherein the role allocator includes one or more ports designated as spine node type ports and one or more other ports designated as leaf node type ports, identify, via the network connection, a type of role allocator port to which the network device is connected, and configure the network device based on the identified type of role allocator port.
10. The network device of claim 9, wherein to identify the type of role allocator port to which the network device is connected, the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the network device is connected to one of the spine node type ports; and wherein to configure the network device, the processing circuitry is further configured to configure the network device as a spine node.
11. The network device of claim 9, wherein to identify the type of role allocator port to which the network device is connected, the processing circuitry is further configured to determine that the network device is connected to one of the leaf node type ports; and wherein to configure the network device, the processing circuitry is further configured to configure the network device as a leaf node.
12. The network device of any of claims 9-11, wherein to establish the network connection, the processing circuitry is further configured to: establish the network connection through a management network.
13. The network device of claim 12, wherein to identify the type of role allocator port, the processing circuitry is further configured to: determine, via a packet received over the management network, a port number assigned to the port of the role allocator to which the network device is connected.
14. The network device of claim 9, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to perform the steps recited in any of claims 2-8.
15. Computer-readable storage media comprising instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of a system to perform the method of any of claims 1-8.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD This disclosure relates to computer networks. BACKGROUND A data center is a collection of interconnected computer servers and associated components, housed in one or more facilities. In a typical data center, a large collection of interconnected servers provides computing and/or storage capacity for execution of various applications. For example, a data center may comprise a facility that hosts applications and services for subscribers, i.e., customers of data center. The data center may, for example, host all of the infrastructure equipment, such as networking and storage systems, redundant power supplies, and environmental controls. In most data centers, clusters of storage systems and application servers are interconnected via a high-speed switch fabric provided by one or more tiers of physical network switches and routers. More sophisticated data centers provide infrastructure spread throughout the world with subscriber support equipment located in various physical hosting facilities. Data centers are often made up of a large number of devices, including both servers and devices that form an Internet Protocol (IP) fabric. The IP fabric may be represented as an underlay network having leaf and spine devices. SUMMARY The invention is defined in the appended claims. In general, this disclosure describes techniques for network configuration based on automatic topology discovery and configuration. In particular, network devices such as routers are configured to automatically determine their place in the network and to provision themselves accordingly. In one example, a method includes deploying a network device within a fabric having a management network by attaching the network device through the management network to a port of a role allocator, wherein the role allocator includes one or more ports designated as first level port connections and one or more other ports designated as second level port connections. If the deployed network device is attached to one of the ports designated as first level port connections, the deployed network device is configured as a first level device. If the deployed network device is attached to one of the ports designated as second level port connections, the deployed network device is configured as a second level device. In one example, a method comprises deploying a network device within a fabric having a management network, wherein deploying includes attaching a port of the deployed network device through the management network to a port of a role allocator, wherein the role allocator includes one or more ports designated as first level port connections and one or more other ports designated as second level port connections; determining whether the deployed network device is attached to one of the ports designated as first level port connections; and if the deployed network device is attached to one of the ports designated as first level port connections, configuring the deployed network device as a first level device. In another example, a network device includes a plurality of network interfaces, each network interface configured to be communicatively coupled to a network; and one or more processors comprising processing circuitry configured to: identify a management port of the network device; establish a network connection through the management port to a role allocator, wherein the role allocator includes one or more ports designated as first level port connections and one or more other ports designated as second level port connections; determine, via the network connection, the role allocator port to which the network device is connected; and if the network device is connected to one of the ports of the role allocator designated as first level port connections, configure the network device as a first level device. As yet another example, a computer-readable medium has comprises instructions that, when executed, cause a processor of a network device to: identify a management port of the network device; establish a network connection through the management port to a role allocator, wherein the role allocator includes one or more ports designated as first level port connections and one or more other ports designated as second level port connections; determine, via the network connection, the role allocator port to which the network device is connected; if the network device is connected to one of the role allocator ports designated as first level port connections, configure the network device as a first level device; and if the network device is connected to one of the role allocator ports designated as second level port connections, configure the network device as a second level device. The details of one or more examples are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features, objects, and advantages will be apparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A and 1B are