Solaris network virtualization and resource control
| Industry | Computer software |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 24, 1982 |
| Fate | Acquired by Oracle Corporation in 2010 |
| Products | Solaris Operating System, including Crossbow network virtualization suite |
| Parent | Oracle Corporation (since 2010) |
Solaris network virtualization and resource management represents a suite of capabilities created by Sun Microsystems as part of the OpenSolaris Crossbow initiative, providing integrated network virtualization and quality of service features within the Solaris Operating System. This technology facilitates secure and efficient virtual network interfaces alongside zones, streamlining the administration of network resources.
Principal elements of Crossbow include:
- Virtual NICs (VNIC)—software-defined network interfaces
- Dedicated IP zones
- Bandwidth allocation and flow regulation on both physical interfaces and VNICs
Description
The Crossbow platform, when paired with advanced network adapters such as xge and bge, delivers comprehensive network virtualization and resource control capabilities on a single host. By combining VNICs with dedicated IP zones or the Sun xVM hypervisor, system administrators can isolate applications within distinct virtual machines, thereby improving security and operational efficiency. The resource management tools enable precise bandwidth distribution and flow control not only at the hardware interface level but also within containerized environments layered above them. These mechanisms enhance overall system utilization while restricting bandwidth consumption for individual processes or virtual machines.
Crossbow project features
This section summarizes the core functionalities provided by Crossbow. For an in-depth explanation, refer to the Oracle Solaris 11 Network Virtualization and Network Resource Management technical document.
VNIC
A VNIC acts as a virtualized network interface constructed atop a physical NIC. Multiple VNIC instances can coexist on a single physical adapter. Each VNIC operates independently with its own configurable media access control (MAC address). Crossbow’s resource control framework permits distinct bandwidth assignments to each VNIC. Virtual machines—including exclusive IP zones or xVM domains—can be deployed on individual VNICs.
Virtual switch
The creation of the initial VNIC triggers the instantiation of a virtual switch layered above the physical network interface. Although this switch is not directly accessible to users, it interconnects all VNICs residing on the same hardware interface, effectively forming an isolated "virtual network in a box." This virtual switch internally routes packets among VNICs without transmitting them externally.
Exclusive IP zones
An exclusive IP zone constitutes an autonomous TCP/IP stack instance operating as a non-global zone. Each zone is bound to a physical network interface and maintains its own IP configuration, supports DHCPv4 as well as IPv6 autoconfiguration, and can possess separate routing tables and protocols. Administrators manage logical interfaces within exclusive IP zones using conventional tools such as ifconfig.
Enhancements to TCP/IP MAC layer
Crossbow introduces improvements to Solaris’ MAC layer at the data link layer by implementing the MAC client interface—a kernel-level construct that enables VNIC operations. These enhancements allow unique MAC addresses to be assigned to each VNIC, thereby offering greater flexibility in network configuration and management.
Flow control and resource allocation
Crossbow enables bandwidth management and flow control on a per-VNIC basis. Network administrators can distribute bandwidth across multiple VNICs through utilities such as dladm and flowadm. By classifying traffic according to criteria like port numbers and destination IP addresses, the system enhances operational efficiency and supports differentiated service levels among VNICs.
Monitoring capabilities
Standard Solaris utilities facilitate the monitoring of isolated IP zones, VNICs, and virtual machines running on these VNICs. Tools including ping and snoop provide status updates for VNICs, while an enhanced version of the netstat command delivers comprehensive packet flow statistics governed by Crossbow’s flow control mechanisms.
Availability of features and source code
The exclusive IP zones capability was first introduced in the Solaris 10 8/07 release. The initial iteration of Crossbow appeared with OpenSolaris 2009.06, while its complete feature set became part of Solaris 11 in 2011.
After Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems, OpenSolaris downloads were discontinued; nevertheless, the Crossbow source code continues to be available through illumos-based distributions (refer to ).
See also
References
- Belgaied, Kais and Lu, Roamer. “Crossbow Hardware Resources Management and Virtualization”
- Droux, Nicolas, "Crossbow Network Virtualization Architecture"
- Rami, Rosen, Virtualization in OpenSolaris
- System Administration Guide: Solaris Containers-Resource Management and Solaris Zones
- Rami, Rosen, Open Solaris lecture (slides in pdf)
- Moellenkamp, Joerg Configuration of Crossbow Network Virtualisation
- Moellenkamp, Joerg Configuration of Crossbow Bandwidth Limiting and Accounting
External links
- The official OpenSolaris Crossbow project page containing documentation and technical details.
- dladm man pages, an essential utility for managing virtual networking components.