Virtual machine task management system

Abstract

A switch encapsulates incoming information using a header, and removes the header upon egress. The header is used by both distributed ingress nodes and within a distributed core to facilitate switching. The ingress and egress elements preferably support Ethernet or other protocol providing connectionless media with a stateful connection. Preferred switches include management protocols for discovering which elements are connected, for constructing appropriate connection tables, for designating a master element, and for resolving failures and off-line conditions among the switches. Secure data protocol (SDP), port to port (PTP) protocol, and active/active protection service (AAPS) are all preferably implemented. Systems and methods contemplated herein can advantageously use Strict Ring Topology (SRT), and conf configure the topology automatically. Components of a distributed switching fabric can be geographically separated by at least one kilometer, and in some cases by over 150 kilometers.

1 - 34 . (canceled)  
     
     
         35 . A virtual machine task management system for minimizing processing execution time by efficiently distributing workload amongst operational computers, processors and other system resources, comprising: 
 a plurality of distributed switches, each having a centralized mechanism that periodically communicates in element load messages to a master to load balance multiple physical or logical links between elements, such that idle processors query busy processors for extra work to reduce idle time.    
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the messages are used to load balance multiple physical links between the elements.  
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the messages are used to load balance multiple logical physical links between the elements.  
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the messages are carried across a backbone.  
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the messages are carried across multiple backbone connections.  
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 35 , wherein the messages are carried at OSI (Open System Interconnection) levels 1 and 2.