REDUCING CABLING COMPLEXITY IN LARGE-SCALE NETWORKS
First Claim
1. An apparatus comprising:
- a midplane circuit board comprising one or more uplink card connectors disposed on a first side and one or more line card connectors disposed on a second side that is opposite the first side;
a substantially planar uplink card comprising a first uplink card connector disposed at least adjacently to a first uplink card edge and a second uplink card connector disposed at least adjacently to a second uplink card edge that is disposed oppositely to the first uplink card edge, the uplink card connecting to the midplane circuit board such that the first uplink card connector interfaces with at least one of the uplink card connectors, the uplink card being disposed orthogonally to the midplane circuit board; and
a substantially planar line card comprising a first line card connector disposed at least adjacently to a first line card edge and a second line card connector disposed at least adjacently to a second line card edge that is disposed oppositely to the first line card edge, the line card connecting to the midplane circuit board such that the first line connector interfaces with at least one of the line card connectors, the line card being disposed orthogonally to both of the midplane circuit board and the uplink card.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
High speed switching networks can be created with a minimum of cabling complexity using pod switches that are connected to a core switch array. Each pod switch can include line cards arranged in parallel connecting on one side of a midplane circuit board that is orthogonal to the line cards and uplink cards also arranged in parallel connecting on an opposite side of the midplane circuit board. The uplink cards are orthogonal to both the midplane circuit board and to the line cards. Each line card provides links to computing nodes. The up-link cards connect to the core switch array. A simplified novel Ethernet extension protocol can be used in conjunction with the described hardware. Systems, methods, techniques, and articles of manufacture are also described.
85 Citations
11 Claims
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1. An apparatus comprising:
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a midplane circuit board comprising one or more uplink card connectors disposed on a first side and one or more line card connectors disposed on a second side that is opposite the first side; a substantially planar uplink card comprising a first uplink card connector disposed at least adjacently to a first uplink card edge and a second uplink card connector disposed at least adjacently to a second uplink card edge that is disposed oppositely to the first uplink card edge, the uplink card connecting to the midplane circuit board such that the first uplink card connector interfaces with at least one of the uplink card connectors, the uplink card being disposed orthogonally to the midplane circuit board; and a substantially planar line card comprising a first line card connector disposed at least adjacently to a first line card edge and a second line card connector disposed at least adjacently to a second line card edge that is disposed oppositely to the first line card edge, the line card connecting to the midplane circuit board such that the first line connector interfaces with at least one of the line card connectors, the line card being disposed orthogonally to both of the midplane circuit board and the uplink card. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of creating a switching network comprising one or more pod switches that each comprise one or more uplink cards connected to one or more line cards through a midplane circuit board such that the one or more uplink cards are disposed substantially in parallel to one another and orthogonal to the midplane circuit board and to the one or more uplink cards, the method comprising:
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connecting each of a plurality of data connections from each of a plurality of uplink circuits on each uplink card of the pod switch to a different one of a plurality of core switch circuits at a core switch array card of a core switch array; and connecting each line card to a plurality of computing nodes such that the line card provides links between each computing node and each of the one or more uplink cards via the midplane circuit board.
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10. A high speed switching network system comprising:
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a plurality of pod switches that each comprise; a midplane circuit board comprising one or more uplink card connectors disposed on a first side and one or more line card connectors disposed on a second side that is opposite the first side; a substantially planar uplink card comprising a first uplink card connector disposed at least adjacently to a first uplink card edge and a second uplink card connector disposed at least adjacently to a second uplink card edge that is disposed oppositely to the first uplink card edge, the uplink card connecting to the midplane circuit board such that the first uplink card connector interfaces with at least one of the uplink card connectors, the uplink card being disposed orthogonally to the midplane circuit board; and a substantially planar line card comprising a first line card connector disposed at least adjacently to a first line card edge and a second line card connector disposed at least adjacently to a second line card edge that is disposed oppositely to the first line card edge, the line card connecting to the midplane circuit board such that the first line card connector interfaces with at least one of the line card connectors, the line card being disposed orthogonally to both of the midplane circuit board and the uplink card; and a core switch array that comprises; one or more core switch array cards that each comprises a core switch central processing unit, a plurality of core switch circuits, and connectors for connecting to the uplink cards of the plurality of pod switches. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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Specification