Connecting network deployment units

• US 9,407,576 B1
• Filed: 07/23/2013
• Issued: 08/02/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Brar, Jagwinder Singh, Marr, Michael David, Lamoreaux, Tyson J., Kelly, Mark N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tiv, Backhean
• Application Number:
  US13/949,120
• Time in Patent Office: 1,106 Days
• Field of Search: 709223-226, 370396-399
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/15 Interconnection of switching modules
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/1515 Non-blocking multistage, e.g. Clos
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/356 for storage area networks

Abstract

Efficient and highly-scalable network solutions are provided that each utilize deployment units based on Clos networks, but in an environment such as a data center of Internet Protocol-based network. Each of the deployment units can include multiple stages of devices, where connections between devices are only made between stages and the deployment units are highly connected. In some embodiments, the level of connectivity between two stages can be reduced, providing available connections to add edge switches and additional host connections while keeping the same number of between-tier connections. In some embodiments, where deployment units (or other network groups) can be used at different levels to connect other deployment units, the edges of the deployment units can be fused to reduce the number of devices per host connection.

Claims

1. A method of connecting switches in a data center, comprising:

providing a plurality of deployment units each comprising at least a first tier of switches and a second tier of switches, each of the first tier of switches connected to each of the second tier of switches within a given deployment unit using only connections between tiers of the given deployment unit;

providing a third tier of switches for connecting each of the plurality of deployment units to a network; and

connecting a selected switch of the second tier of switches within each deployment unit to only one selected switch of the third tier of switches.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each switch of the first tier of switches of the given deployment unit is capable of providing at least one external connection to at least one computing device or at least one additional deployment unit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each deployment unit comprises a Clos network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein a portion of switches of the first tier of switches of the given deployment unit are top of rack (TOR) switches connected to a plurality of host devices in a network rack.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the switches is a commodity network switch or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising connecting additional deployment units to at least one switch of the third tier of switches, wherein the additional deployment units can be added up to a number of connections available for each switch of the third tier of switches.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

removing at least one redundant connection from at least one switch of the second tier of switches to a corresponding switch of the third tier of switches to allow a number of additional switches to be added to a corresponding first tier of switches.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein a number of switches in a first tier of switches for a first deployment unit is different than a number of switches in a first tier of switches for a second deployment unit.

9. A method of connecting switches in a data network, comprising:

providing at least one deployment unit, each deployment unit comprising at least a first tier of switches and a second tier of switches, each of the first tier of switches connected to each of the second tier of switches within a deployment unit; and

providing a third tier of switches for connecting each of the at least one deployment unit to a network, each of the second tier of switches in the at least one deployment unit having only a single connection to one of the third tier of switches.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein each of the first tier switches of the at least one deployment unit is capable of providing at least one external connection to at least one computing device or at least one additional deployment unit.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein each deployment unit comprises a Clos network.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein a portion of the switches of the first tier of switches are top of rack (TOR) switches connected to a plurality of host devices in a network rack.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein each of the switches is a commodity network switch or application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising connecting additional deployment units to at least one switch of the third tier of switches, wherein the additional deployment units can be added up to a number of connections available for each switch of the third tier of switches.

15. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

removing at least one redundant connection from at least one switch of the second tier of switches to a corresponding third tier switch to allow additional switches of the first tier of switches to be added.

16. A data network, comprising:

a first deployment unit, the first deployment unit comprising a first set of first-tier switches and a first set of second-tier switches, each of the first-tier switches of the first deployment unit connected to each of the second-tier switches of the first deployment unit;

a second deployment unit, the second deployment unit comprising a second set of first-tier switches and a second set of second-tier switches, each of the first-tier switches of the second deployment unit connected to each of the second-tier switches of the second deployment unit; and

first and second third-tier switches for connecting the first and second deployment units to a network, each of the first set of second-tier switches having only a single connection to one of the first or second third-tier switches and each of the second set of second-tier switches having only a single connection to one of the first or second third-tier switches.

17. The data network of claim 16, wherein the first deployment unit comprises a Clos network.

18. The data network of claim 16, wherein a portion of the first-tier switches are top of rack (TOR) switches connected to host devices in a network rack.

19. The data network of claim 16, further comprising additional deployment units connected to at least one third-tier switch, wherein the additional deployment units can be added up to a number of connections available for each of the third-tier switches.

20. The data network of claim 16, further comprising a number of additional first-tier switches connected to respective second-tier switches, wherein the number of additional first-tier switches is based on a number of connections available for the first and second third-tier switches.