Generation and use of micro-pools to assign an ip address to a requesting computing device

Abstract

The present application describes the generation and use of micro-pools that are assigned to various DHCP servers by an agent. In examples, each micro-pool includes a set number of IP addresses. The agent tracks which DHCP servers are assigned which micro-pools. As the IP addresses of a micro-pool are assigned to requesting computing devices, the agent may subsequently assign an additional micro-pool to a particular DHCP server.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 generating a first micro-pool and a second micro-pool from a pool of internet protocol (IP) addresses, the first micro-pool having a first set of IP addresses from the pool of IP addresses and the second micro-pool having a second set of IP addresses from the pool of IP addresses;   assigning the first micro-pool to a first server;   assigning the second micro-pool to a second server;   monitoring a request from a computing device, the request including a request for an IP address and causing the first server to respond with a first IP address from the first set of IP addresses in the first micro-pool and causing the second server to respond with a second IP address from the second set of IP addresses in the second micro-pool; and   updating a status of one of the first micro-pool or the second micro-pool based, at least in part, on the computing device selecting either the first IP address or the second IP address.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising assigning the first server another micro-pool in response to a micro-pool request being received from the first server. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the another micro-pool includes another set of IP addresses from the pool of IP addresses. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising assigning the first server another micro-pool based, at least in part, on a monitored status of the first micro-pool. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the monitored status is a number of available IP addresses remaining in the first micro-pool. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the another micro-pool includes another set of IP addresses from the pool of IP addresses. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving an indication that identifies the first micro-pool as an empty micro-pool from the first server when the first set of IP addresses in the first micro-pool have been assigned to various computing devices. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising causing the first server to delay responding to the request from the computing device based, at least in part, on an overload condition being detected. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising causing the first server to ignore the request from the computing device based, at least in part, on an overload condition being detected. 
     
     
         10 . A system, comprising:
 a processor; and   a memory communicatively coupled to the processor and storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, perform operations, comprising:
 assigning a first micro-pool to a first server and a second micro-pool to a second server, the first micro-pool having a first set of internet protocol (IP) addresses from a pool of IP addresses and the second micro-pool having a second set of IP addresses from the general pool of IP addresses; 
   monitoring a status of the first micro-pool and the second micro-pool; and   assigning the first server another micro-pool based, at least in part, on the monitored status of the first micro-pool.   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the another micro-pool includes another set of IP addresses from the pool of IP addresses. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the monitored status is a number of available IP addresses remaining in the first micro-pool. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising instructions for receiving an indication that identifies the first micro-pool as an empty micro-pool from the first server when the first set of IP addresses in the first micro-pool have been assigned to various computing devices. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising instructions for causing the first server to delay responding to a request from a computing device based, at least in part, on an overload condition being detected. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 10 , further comprising causing the first server to ignore a request from a computing device based, at least in part, on an overload condition being detected.