Method and system for global routing and bandwidth sharing
First Claim
1. In a network communications environment comprising a plurality of network nodes, a plurality of communications links among network nodes, and a control unit, the plurality of network nodes comprising a plurality of host network nodes and a plurality of router network nodes, a method for the control unit to produce routing information, the method comprising:
- receiving topology information about the network communications environment;
receiving inter-node communications information;
computing routing information for at least one router network node, the computing based, at least in part, on the received topology information and on the received inter-node communications information, wherein computing routing information comprises applying a max-fair algorithm to the received topology information and to the received inter-node communications information using a multi-commodity flow implementation, wherein applying the max-fair algorithm comprises first satisfying demand in a fair manner and then satisfying remaining demand by maximizing a sum of allocated flow rates;
computing, at the control unit, bandwidth allocation information for at least one router network node, the computing based, at least in part, on the received topology information and on the received inter-node communications information, wherein computing bandwidth allocation information comprises applying the max-fair algorithm to the received topology information and to the received inter-node communications information using the multi-commodity flow implementation; and
sending the bandwidth allocation information to the at least one router network node.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Disclosed is a routing and bandwidth allocation system that maximizes network throughput while maintaining global fairness in the sharing of network resources. From gathered global network information (such as inter-node communications patterns and network topology), routing tables and bandwidth allocation policies are computed for routers. In some embodiments, the computations involve applying multi-commodity flow methods to provide a “max-fair” allocation of network resources. While in some embodiments each router collects global network information and then locally produces its own routing and bandwidth allocation tables, it can be simpler and cheaper in terms of both computation and security for a centralized, trusted control unit to perform the calculations and then to distribute the results to the routers. The computed bandwidth policies can leave some bandwidth unallocated to handle unexpected surges in demand. The computed routing tables can include multiple paths leading to greater link utilization and to robustness to link failure.
30 Citations
39 Claims
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1. In a network communications environment comprising a plurality of network nodes, a plurality of communications links among network nodes, and a control unit, the plurality of network nodes comprising a plurality of host network nodes and a plurality of router network nodes, a method for the control unit to produce routing information, the method comprising:
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receiving topology information about the network communications environment; receiving inter-node communications information; computing routing information for at least one router network node, the computing based, at least in part, on the received topology information and on the received inter-node communications information, wherein computing routing information comprises applying a max-fair algorithm to the received topology information and to the received inter-node communications information using a multi-commodity flow implementation, wherein applying the max-fair algorithm comprises first satisfying demand in a fair manner and then satisfying remaining demand by maximizing a sum of allocated flow rates; computing, at the control unit, bandwidth allocation information for at least one router network node, the computing based, at least in part, on the received topology information and on the received inter-node communications information, wherein computing bandwidth allocation information comprises applying the max-fair algorithm to the received topology information and to the received inter-node communications information using the multi-commodity flow implementation; and sending the bandwidth allocation information to the at least one router network node. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
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39. A computer-readable medium encoded with computer-executable instructions for performing a method for a control unit in a network communications environment to produce routing information, the method comprising:
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receiving topology information about the network communications environment; receiving inter-node communications information; computing routing information for at least one router network node, the computing based, at least in part, on the received topology information and on the received inter-node communications information, wherein computing routing information comprises applying a max-fair algorithm to the received topology information and to the received inter-node communications information using a multi-commodity flow implementation, wherein applying the max-fair algorithm comprises first satisfying demand in a fair manner and then satisfying remaining demand by maximizing a sum of allocated flow rates; computing, at the control unit, bandwidth allocation information for at least one router network node, the computing based, at least in part, on the received topology information and on the received inter-node communications information, wherein computing bandwidth allocation information comprises applying the max-fair algorithm to the received topology information and to the received inter-node communications information using the multi-commodity flow implementation; and sending the bandwidth allocation information to the at least one router network node.
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Specification