Methods and apparatus for flow control associated with a switch fabric
First Claim
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
- a processor configured to be operatively coupled to a memory and that is configured to execute a flow control module; and
the flow control module configured to receive a first plurality of sample data packets from an output queue of a stage of a multi-stage switch at a first sample rate when an available capacity of the output queue crosses a first threshold,the flow control module configured to (1) stop receiving the first plurality of sample data packets from the output queue of the stage of the multi-stage switch at the first sample rate and (2) receive a second plurality of sample data packets from the output queue of the stage of the multi-stage switch at a second sample rate greater than the first sample rate, when the available capacity of the output queue crosses a second threshold,the available capacity of the output queue being greater at the first threshold than at the second threshold,the flow control module configured to send a flow control signal to an edge device of the multi-stage switch from which the first plurality of sample data packets or the second plurality of sample data packets entered the multi-stage switch, the flow control signal being an out-of-band flow control signal.
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Abstract
In some embodiments, an apparatus includes a flow control module configured to receive a first data packet from an output queue of a stage of a multi-stage switch at a first rate when an available capacity of the output queue crosses a first threshold. The flow control module is configured to receive a second data packet from the output queue of the stage of the multi-stage switch at a second rate when the available capacity of the output queue crosses a second threshold. The flow control module configured to send a flow control signal to an edge device of the multi-stage switch from which the first data packet or the second data packet entered the multi-stage switch.
141 Citations
18 Claims
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1. An apparatus, comprising:
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a processor configured to be operatively coupled to a memory and that is configured to execute a flow control module; and the flow control module configured to receive a first plurality of sample data packets from an output queue of a stage of a multi-stage switch at a first sample rate when an available capacity of the output queue crosses a first threshold, the flow control module configured to (1) stop receiving the first plurality of sample data packets from the output queue of the stage of the multi-stage switch at the first sample rate and (2) receive a second plurality of sample data packets from the output queue of the stage of the multi-stage switch at a second sample rate greater than the first sample rate, when the available capacity of the output queue crosses a second threshold, the available capacity of the output queue being greater at the first threshold than at the second threshold, the flow control module configured to send a flow control signal to an edge device of the multi-stage switch from which the first plurality of sample data packets or the second plurality of sample data packets entered the multi-stage switch, the flow control signal being an out-of-band flow control signal. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An apparatus, comprising:
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a first switch module configured to be included in a distributed switch fabric, the first switch module configured to receive a plurality of data packets from a plurality of second switch modules of the distributed switch fabric and store the plurality of data packets in an output queue, if an available capacity of the output queue crosses a threshold, and in response to a data packet request received at the first switch module from an out-of-band flow control module, the first switch module configured to send a data packet in the output queue to the out-of-band flow control module such that the out-of-band flow control module sends a first out-of-band flow control signal to a source edge device associated with the data packet using a first flow control protocol and such that the source edge device sends a second flow control signal to a source peripheral processing device associated with the data packet using a second flow control protocol, the first switch module configured to select the data packet in the output queue based on a time at which the first switch module receives the data packet request from the out-of-band flow control module. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A non-transitory processor-readable medium storing code representing instructions to cause a processor to:
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receive an indicator of an available capacity of an output queue of a stage of a multi-stage switch; send a request for a data packet within the output queue if the indicator of the available capacity of the output queue satisfies a condition; and send a first flow control signal to a source edge device of the data packet using a first flow control protocol such that the source edge device sends a second flow control signal to a source peripheral processing device operatively coupled to the source edge device using a second flow control protocol, the first flow control signal being an out-of-band flow control signal. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification