Power aware switching using analytics
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- for each of a plurality of outgoing ports of a first network element;
collecting data comprising a number of packets arriving at the outgoing port to be sent from the first network element and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval;
calculating a packet per watt (“
P/W”
) metric for the outgoing port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets arriving at the outgoing port divided by the amount of power consumed by the outgoing port during the first time interval;
repeating the collecting and calculating for the outgoing port over a number of successive time intervals;
calculating a mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals;
calculating a variance for the outgoing port over the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals;
comparing variances associated with each outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to determine an outgoing port having the lowest variance; and
redirecting traffic received at the network element to the outgoing port having the lowest variance.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is described and in one embodiment includes, for each of a plurality of outgoing ports of a first network element: collecting data comprising a number of packets arriving the outgoing port and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval; calculating a packet per watt (“P/W”) metric for the port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets coming into the port divided by the amount of power consumed by the port during the first time interval; repeating the collecting and calculating for a number of successive time intervals; calculating a mean P/W metric for a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; and calculating a variance for the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals. The method further includes redirecting traffic received at the network element to the outgoing port having the lowest variance.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
for each of a plurality of outgoing ports of a first network element; collecting data comprising a number of packets arriving at the outgoing port to be sent from the first network element and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval; calculating a packet per watt (“
P/W”
) metric for the outgoing port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets arriving at the outgoing port divided by the amount of power consumed by the outgoing port during the first time interval;repeating the collecting and calculating for the outgoing port over a number of successive time intervals; calculating a mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; calculating a variance for the outgoing port over the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; comparing variances associated with each outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to determine an outgoing port having the lowest variance; and redirecting traffic received at the network element to the outgoing port having the lowest variance. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. One or more non-transitory tangible media that includes code for execution and when executed by a processor is operable to perform operations comprising:
for each of a plurality of outgoing ports of a first network element; collecting data comprising a number of packets arriving at the outgoing port to be sent from the first network element and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval; calculating a packet per watt (“
P/W”
) metric for the outgoing port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets arriving at the outgoing port divided by the amount of power consumed by the outgoing port during the first time interval;repeating the collecting and calculating for the outgoing port over a number of successive time intervals; calculating a mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; calculating a variance for the outgoing port over the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; comparing variances associated with each outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to determine an outgoing port having the lowest variance; and redirecting traffic received at the network element to the outgoing port having the lowest variance. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. An apparatus comprising:
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a memory element configured to store data; a processor operable to execute instructions associated with the data; and a power savings module configured to; for each of a plurality of outgoing ports of a first network element; collect data comprising a number of packets arriving at the outgoing port to be sent from the first network element and an amount of power consumed by the outgoing port for a first time interval; calculate a packet per watt (“
P/W”
) metric for the outgoing port for the first time interval, wherein the P/W metric comprises the number of packets arriving at the outgoing port divided by the amount of power consumed by the outgoing port during the first time interval;repeat the collecting and calculating for the outgoing port over a number of successive time intervals; calculate a mean P/W metric for the outgoing port over a time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; calculate a variance for the outgoing port over the time period comprising the first time interval and the successive time intervals; compare variances associated with each outgoing port of the plurality of outgoing ports to determine an outgoing port having the lowest variance; and redirect traffic received at the network element to the outgoing port having the lowest variance. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification