Arista Networks, Inc.
SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR IN-LINE IN-BAND NETWORK TELEMETRY WITH ADAPTIVE PACKET LENGTH

Abstract:

Systems and methods for managing a data packet's maximum transmission unit (MTU) limit in an in-band telemetry (INT) network are disclosed. The methods include a downstream network element receiving a packet with INT instructions and in response to determining that adding its own metadata would exceed the allowed MTU limit at its egress interface, generating and forwarding a telemetry report containing existing and new metadata to the designated collector, and forwarding the received packet without any metadata to the next hop. The methods forward the telemetry report to the collector when the packet's MTU limit is exceeded and thereby avoids uncontrolled growth of the packet size.