Distributed virtual switch for virtualized computer systems

Abstract

A runtime state of a virtual port associated with a virtual machine (“VM”) is persisted as the VM is migrated from a source host to a destination host. In certain embodiments, a virtual switch forwards network frames between the VM and the physical network interface via the virtual port. During migration of the VM, the runtime state of the virtual port is transferred to the destination host and applied at the second host to a virtual port associated with a second virtual switch at the destination host. The runtime state of the virtual port at the source host is then cleared, and the second virtual switch at the destination host forwards network frames between the migrated VM and the physical network interface of the destination host using the virtual port at the second host.

1 . (canceled) 
     
     
         2 . A method of configuring a first virtual port of a virtual switch executing on a host computer for a first machine executing on the host computer, the method comprising:
 receiving a set of forwarding rules and a set of input/output (I/O) path filtering behaviors for the first machine;   storing, as a persisted second virtual port that is associated with the first machine, the set of forwarding rules and the set of I/O path filtering behaviors;   when the first virtual port is associated with the first machine in order to forward data messages from the first machine to other machines executing on the host computer or to devices operating outside of the host computer, configuring the first virtual port with the set of forwarding rules and the set of I/O path filtering behaviors of the persisted second virtual port based on the second virtual port's association with the first machine.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein second virtual port is a port of a distributed virtual switch (DVS) for which the set of forwarding rules and the set of I/O path filtering behaviors are received and stored. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the set of forwarding rules and the set of filtering behavior are received for the DVS through a management application, and the DVS spans multiple host computers and is an abstraction provided by the management application to allow an administrator to manage the set of forwarding rules and the set of filtering behaviors for multiple machines executing on the multiple host computers in order to allow data messages to be exchanged between the multiple machines executing on the multiple host computers. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the set of filtering rules and the set of filtering behaviors are stored for the second virtual port in a persistent storage of the first host computer. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the set of forwarding rules is part of one forwarding class that defines forwarding behavior of the second virtual port. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the set of filtering behaviors is part of one filtering class that defines filtering behavior along the first machine's I/O path. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the set of filtering behaviors comprises at least one of monitoring operation, filtering operation, and transformation operation of the first distributed port. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the second virtual port is associated with the first machine by providing to the first host computer a connection identifier that associates the first machine with the second virtual port. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein
 the first machine comprises a first virtual network interface card (VNIC);   providing the connection identifier comprises assigning the connection identifier to the first VNIC to specify that the first VNIC has the right to use network resources associated with the second virtual port.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 2  further comprising configuring the first host computer to store runtime state of first virtual port with the second virtual port. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11  further comprising:
 collecting the runtime state from the second virtual port; 
 migrating the first machine from the first host computer to a second host computer; 
 associating the second virtual port with a third virtual port of a second virtual switch executing on the second host computer; 
 providing the collected and stored runtime state to the third virtual port so that state associated with the migrated first machine is not lost because of the migration. 
 
     
     
         13 . A non-transitory machine readable medium storing a program for execution by at least one processing unit of a computer to configure a first virtual port of a virtual switch executing on a host computer for a first machine executing on the host computer, the program comprising sets of instructions for:
 receiving a set of forwarding rules and a set of input/output (I/O) path filtering behaviors for the first machine;   storing, as a persisted second virtual port that is associated with the first machine, the set of forwarding rules and the set of I/O path filtering behaviors;   when the first virtual port is associated with the first machine in order to forward data messages from the first machine to other machines executing on the host computer or to devices operating outside of the host computer, configuring the first virtual port with the set of forwarding rules and the set of I/O path filtering behaviors of the persisted second virtual port based on the second virtual port's association with the first machine.   
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein second virtual port is a port of a distributed virtual switch (DVS) for which the set of forwarding rules and the set of I/O path filtering behaviors are received and stored. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the set of forwarding rules and the set of filtering behavior are received for the DVS through a management application, and the DVS spans multiple host computers and is an abstraction provided by the management application to allow an administrator to manage the set of forwarding rules and the set of filtering behaviors for multiple machines executing on the multiple host computers in order to allow data messages to be exchanged between the multiple machines executing on the multiple host computers. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the set of filtering rules and the set of filtering behaviors are stored for the second virtual port in a persistent storage of the first host computer. 
     
     
         17 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the set of forwarding rules is part of one forwarding class that defines forwarding behavior of the second virtual port. 
     
     
         18 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the set of filtering behaviors is part of one filtering class that defines filtering behavior along the first machine's I/O path. 
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 18 , wherein the set of filtering behaviors comprises at least one of monitoring operation, filtering operation, and transformation operation of the first distributed port. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the second virtual port is associated with the first machine by providing to the first host computer a connection identifier that associates the first machine with the second virtual port. 
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory machine readable medium of  claim 20 , wherein the first machine comprises a first virtual network interface card (VNIC), and the connection identifier is provided by assigning the connection identifier to the first VNIC to specify that the first VNIC has the right to use network resources associated with the second virtual port.