OPTICAL ARCHITECTURE AND CHANNEL PLAN EMPLOYING MULTI-FIBER CONFIGURATIONS FOR DATA CENTER NETWORK SWITCHING

• US 20120321309A1
• Filed: 06/20/2012
• Published: 12/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/20/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Plexxi, Inc. (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Barry, Richard A., Husak, David J., Spock, Derek E., Li, Ruoding, Morgan, Matthew William, Everdell, Pete B.
• Granted Patent: US 9,065,582 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 398/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/275 Ring-type networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/00 Optical multiplex systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0206 Express channels arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/021 Reconfigurable arrangements, e.g. reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers [ROADM] or tunable optical add/drop multiplexers [TOADM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0213 Groups of channels or wave bands arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0217 Multi-degree architectures, e.g. having a connection degree greater than two
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/022 For interconnection of WDM optical networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0228 Wavelength allocation for communications one-to-all, e.g. broadcasting wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0238 Wavelength allocation for communications one-to-many, e.g. multicasting wavelengths
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0267 Optical signaling or routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0269 using tables for routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0275 using an optical service channel
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0283 WDM ring architectures
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/18 for broadcast or conference , e.g. multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/745 Address table lookup; Address filtering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/351 for local area network [LAN], e.g. Ethernet switches
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/14 Two-way operation using the same type of signal, i.e. duplex
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 Switch and router aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0037 Operation

Abstract

Data center network architectures, systems, and methods that can reduce the cost and complexity of data center networks. Such data center network architectures, systems, and methods employ physical optical ring network and multi-dimensional network topologies and optical nodes to efficiently allocate bandwidth within the data center networks, while reducing the physical interconnectivity requirements of the data center networks. The respective optical nodes can be configured to provide various switching topologies, including, but not limited to, chordal ring switching topologies and multi-dimensional chordal ring switching topologies.

Claims

1. A system, comprising:

at least one optical node,

wherein the optical node includes;

at least one pair of optical ports including a first optical port and a second optical port, the first optical port having a plurality of inputs arranged in a predetermined sequence 1 to N, the second optical port having a plurality of outputs arranged in the predetermined sequence 1 to N;

a plurality of optical connection paths disposed between the first optical port and the second optical port, the plurality of optical connection paths including a first optical connection path connected to a 1^st input of the first optical port, a second optical connection path connected to an N^th output of the second optical port, and a plurality of other optical connection paths connected between 2^nd to N^th inputs of the first optical port and 1^5t to [N−

1]^th outputs of the second optical port, respectively;

a packet switch;

at least one optical transmitter operative to receive at least one first electrical signal from the packet switch, and to provide at least one first optical signal on a specified wavelength w corresponding to the at least one first electrical signal;

a first optical multiplexer operative to receive the at least one first optical signal on the specified wavelength w from the at least one optical transmitter, and to add the at least one first optical signal to a first selected one of the plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified output k of the second optical port, wherein 1≦

k≦

N;

a first optical de-multiplexer operative to drop at least one second optical signal on the specified wavelength w from a second selected one of the plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified input j of the first optical port, wherein 1≦

j≦

k; and

at least one optical receiver operative to provide at least one second electrical signal corresponding to the at least one second optical signal to the packet switch.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the optical node further includes:

at least a second optical transmitter operative to receive at least one third electrical signal from the packet switch, and to provide at least one third optical signal on the specified wavelength w corresponding to the at least one third electrical signal;

a second optical multiplexer operative to receive the at least one third optical signal on the specified wavelength w from the at least second optical transmitter, and to add the at least one third optical signal on the specified wavelength w to a third selected one of the plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified output k′

of the second optical port, wherein 1≦

k′

≦

N;

a second optical de-multiplexer operative to drop at least one fourth optical signal on the specified wavelength w from a fourth selected one of the plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified input j′

of the first optical port, wherein 1≦

j′

≦

k′

; and

at least a second optical receiver operative to provide at least one fourth electrical signal corresponding to the at least one fourth optical signal to the packet switch,

wherein k′

≦

j−

1 or j′

≧

k−

1.

3. The system of claim 2:

wherein k′

=j−

1;

wherein the third optical connection path corresponds to the second optical connection path; and

wherein and the second optical multiplexer is disposed between the first optical de-multiplexer and the second optical port on the second optical connection path.

4. The system of claim 3 wherein the first optical de-multiplexer and the second optical multiplexer are implemented in a single device.

5. The system of claim 2:

wherein j′

=k−

1;

wherein the fourth optical connection path corresponds to the first optical connection path; and

wherein the first optical multiplexer is disposed between the second optical de-multiplexer and the second optical port on the first optical connection path.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the first optical multiplexer and the second optical de-multiplexer are implemented in a single device.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the at least one optical node comprises a plurality of optical nodes, the plurality of optical nodes being interconnected in a predetermined optical node arrangement, the predetermined optical node arrangement having a physical topology and a base switching topology.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the physical topology is a multi-fiber ring network, wherein the base switching topology is a chordal ring network, wherein the plurality of optical nodes include at least one first optical node and at least one second optical node, wherein the first and second optical nodes have ports that are not physically connected to one another on the physical topology, and wherein the base switching topology includes at least one chord disposed between at least the first and second optical nodes.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the base switching topology is a full mesh network.

10. The system of claim 8:

wherein the plurality of optical nodes include N optical nodes, wherein each optical node is designated as an optical node n, wherein “

n”

ranges from 0 to N−

1, wherein the chordal ring network has a plurality of chords having variable chord lengths, wherein each chord length is designated as r_m, wherein “

m”

ranges from 1 to C, and wherein “

N” and

“

C”

are positive integers; and

wherein the packet switch included in the optical node n is connected to the packet switch included in each of an optical node n+r_c (mod N) and an optical node n+r_c (mod N) with a multiplicity of s_c chords, wherein s_c≧

1, and wherein “

c”

ranges from 1 to C.

11. The system of claim 8 wherein at least some of the plurality of optical nodes include a circuit switch operatively coupled between the packet switch and a plurality of optical receivers and optical transmitters.

12. The system of claim 11 wherein the circuit switch is directly communicably coupleable to at least one externally connected device.

13. The system of claim 11 wherein the circuit switch included in at least one of the plurality of optical nodes is configured to modify the at least one chord to produce a resultant switching topology different from the base switching topology.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the at least one chord includes a plurality of chords, wherein the circuit switch included in at least one of the plurality of optical nodes is configured to effectively combine at least two of the plurality of chords to produce at least one additional chord having an increased chord length in the resultant switching topology.

15. The system of claim 7 wherein the physical topology is a q-dimensional torus network, wherein the base switching topology is a q-dimensional chordal ring network, wherein the plurality of optical nodes include at least one first optical node and at least one second optical node, in the same dimension of the q-dimensional torus network, having ports that are not physically connected to one another on the q-dimensional torus network, wherein the q-dimensional chordal ring network includes at least one chord disposed between at least the first and second optical nodes, and wherein “

q”

is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

16. The system of claim 15 wherein at least some of the plurality of optical nodes include a circuit switch operatively coupled between the packet switch and a plurality of optical receivers and optical transmitters.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the circuit switch is directly communicably coupleable to at least one externally connected device.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the circuit switch included in at least one of the plurality of optical nodes is configured to modify the at least one chord to produce a resultant switching topology different from the base switching topology.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the at least one chord includes a plurality of chords, wherein the circuit switch included in at least one of the plurality of optical nodes is configured to effectively combine at least two of the plurality of chords to produce at least one additional chord having an increased chord length in the resultant switching topology.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein the plurality of optical nodes further include a third optical node and a fourth optical node, wherein the third optical node and the fourth optical node have having ports that are not physically connected to one another on the q-dimensional torus network, wherein the third optical node is disposed in a first one of the q dimensions, wherein the fourth optical node is disposed in a second one of the q dimensions, and wherein the at least one additional chord having the increased chord length is operative to connect the respective packet switches included in the third and fourth optical nodes.

21. The system of claim 15 wherein the q-dimensional chordal ring network is a full mesh network in at least one dimension.

22. The system of claim 7 wherein the physical topology is a q-dimensional Manhattan Street network, wherein the base switching topology is a q-dimensional chordal path network, and wherein “

q”

is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

23. The system of claim 18 wherein the q-dimensional chordal path network has q dimensions, and wherein the q-dimensional chordal path network is a full mesh network in at least one of the q dimensions.

24. A system, comprising:

at least one optical node,

wherein the optical node includes;

at least one first pair of optical ports;

a first plurality of optical connection paths disposed between the first pair of optical ports;

at least one second pair of optical ports;

a second plurality of optical connection paths disposed between the second pair of optical ports,

a circuit switch;

a first plurality of optical receivers and optical transmitters communicably coupled between the first plurality of optical connection paths and the circuit switch; and

a second plurality of optical receivers and optical transmitters communicably coupled between the second plurality of optical connection paths and the circuit switch,

wherein, for each of the respective pairs of optical ports and the respective plurality of optical connection paths disposed therebetween;

the respective pair of optical ports includes a first optical port and a second optical port, the first optical port having a plurality of inputs arranged in a predetermined sequence 1 to N, the second optical port having a plurality of outputs arranged in the predetermined sequence 1 to N;

the respective plurality of optical connection paths includes a first optical connection path connected to a 1^st input of the first optical port, a second optical connection path connected to an N^th output of the second optical port, and a plurality of other optical connection paths connected between 2^nd to N^th inputs of the first optical port and 1^st to (N−

1)^th outputs of the second optical port, respectively;

at least one of the optical transmitters communicably coupled between the circuit switch and the respective plurality of optical connection paths is operative to receive at least one first electrical signal from the circuit switch, and to provide at least one first optical signal on a specified wavelength corresponding to the at least one first electrical signal to a first selected one of the respective plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified output k of the second optical port, wherein 1≦

k≦

N; and

at least one of the optical receivers communicably coupled between the respective plurality of optical connection paths and the circuit switch is operative to receive at least one second optical signal on the specified wavelength from a second selected one of the plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified input j of the first optical port, wherein 1≦

j≦

k, and wherein the at least one of the optical receivers is further operative to provide at least one second electrical signal corresponding to the at least one second optical signal to the circuit switch.

25. The system of claim 24 wherein the at least one optical node comprises a plurality of optical nodes, the plurality of optical nodes being interconnected in a predetermined optical node arrangement, the predetermined optical node arrangement having a physical topology and a base switching topology.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the physical topology is a q-dimensional torus network, wherein the base switching topology is a q-dimensional chordal ring network, and wherein “

q”

is a positive integer greater than or equal to 2.

27. The system of claim 26 wherein the q-dimensional chordal ring network is a full mesh network in at least one dimension.

28. The system of claim 25 wherein the physical topology is a q-dimensional Manhattan Street network, wherein the base switching topology is a q-dimensional chordal path network, and wherein “

q”

is a positive integer greater than or equal to 1.

29. The system of claim 28 wherein the q-dimensional chordal path network has q dimensions, and wherein the q-dimensional chordal path network is a full mesh network in at least one of the q dimensions.

30. A method, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one optical node, wherein the optical node includes;

at least one pair of optical ports including a first optical port and a second optical port, the first optical port having a plurality of inputs arranged in a predetermined sequence 1 to N, the second optical port having a plurality of outputs arranged in the predetermined sequence 1 to N;

a plurality of optical connection paths disposed between the first optical port and the second optical port, the plurality of optical connection paths including a first optical connection path connected to a 1^st input of the first optical port, a second optical connection path connected to an N^th output of the second optical port, and a plurality of other optical connection paths connected between 2^nd to N^th inputs of the first optical port and 1^st to [N−

1]^th outputs of the second optical port, respectively;

a switch;

at least one optical transmitter;

an optical multiplexer;

a optical de-multiplexer; and

at least one optical receiver;

receiving, at the at least one optical transmitter, at least one first electrical signal from the switch;

providing, by the at least one optical transmitter, at least one first optical signal on a specified wavelength corresponding to the at least one first electrical signal;

receiving, at the optical multiplexer, the at least one first optical signal on the specified wavelength from the at least one optical transmitter;

adding, by the optical multiplexer, the at least one first optical signal to a first selected one of the plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified output k of the second optical port, wherein 1≦

k≦

N;

dropping, by a optical de-multiplexer, at least one second optical signal on the specified wavelength from a second selected one of the plurality of optical connection paths connected to a specified input j of the first optical port, wherein 1≦

j≦

k; and

providing, by the at least one optical receiver, at least one second electrical signal corresponding to the at least one second optical signal to the switch.

31. A method of multicasting an Ethernet frame from an origin Ethernet switch to at least one destination port on a destination Ethernet switch over at least one path, comprising the steps of:

specifying at least one duplex port of the origin Ethernet switch as a multicast master port;

specifying a destination Ethernet switch as a primary destination switch for each multicast master port;

specifying one duplex port of the primary destination switch as a primary destination port for each of the multicast master ports;

establishing a forward simplex connection from each of the at least one duplex ports of the origin Ethernet switch to its primary destination port through one or more circuit switches in the at least one path between and including the origin Ethernet switch and the primary destination switch;

populating a forwarding table associated with the origin Ethernet switch with MAC addresses of frames to be multicast towards the destination switches, the destination switches including the primary destination switch;

populating a forwarding table of each destination switch with an output port mapping based on, but not limited to, packet header fields for a received Ethernet frame;

forwarding the Ethernet frame from the origin Ethernet switch on the forward simplex connection for receipt by the primary destination switch;

creating at least a first and second copy of the Ethernet frame at the output of one or more circuit switches; and

directing the first copy of the Ethernet frame from the circuit switch to the multicast master port.

32. A method of multicasting an Ethernet frame from an origin Ethernet switch to at least two destination ports on at least two destination Ethernet switches over at least two paths, comprising the steps of:

specifying at least one duplex port of the origin Ethernet switch as a multicast master port;

specifying a first destination Ethernet switch as a primary destination switch for each multicast mater port;

specifying one duplex port of the primary destination switch as a primary destination port for each of the multicast master ports;

specifying a second destination Ethernet switch as a secondary destination switch;

specifying one duplex port of the secondary destination switch as a secondary destination port for each of the multicast master ports;

establishing a duplex connection between each multicast master port and its primary destination port through one or more cross-point switches, the duplex connection including a forward simplex connection from the multicast master port and a reverse simplex connection from the primary destination port to the multicast master port;

populating a forwarding table associated with the origin Ethernet switch with MAC addresses of frames to be multicast towards the destination switches, the destination switches including the primary destination switch;

populating a forwarding table of each destination switch with MAC addresses of frames to be multicast towards the destination switches to be forwarded to one or more ports of the destination switch;

creating at least first and second copies of the forward simplex connection at one or more outputs of the one or more cross-point switches; and

directing at least one of the first and second copies of the forward simplex connection to the secondary destination port of the secondary destination switch.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein the primary destination switch is the same as the origin switch and the primary destination port is the same as the multicast master port.