NeTS: Small: Convertible Data Center Networks

第1部分：科学发现和技术进步的主要驱动力越来越多地是在称为数据中心的大规模网络计算基础设施中执行的数据密集型计算。此类计算涉及跨数据中心网络在服务器和处理器之间移动数据。为了保持数据中心的可扩展性、成本效益和能源效率，能够调整网络以满足不断变化和不断发展的网络通信需求非常重要。这个项目就是为了解决这个问题。它将为数据中心联网开发一种新的方法，称为“网络可转换性”。一个可转换的数据中心网络动态地转换其结构，以适应来自数据密集型计算的不同的网络通信需求。通过这样做，它可以为各种应用程序提供最佳性能，而无需任何手动网络重构，从而产生更高效的数据基础设施，以服务于依赖数据分析的许多应用程序领域。第2部分：本项目将开发一种网络可转换方法，该方法利用小端口数转换器交换机动态转换拓扑。转换器交换机被战略性地放置并精细地集成到物理数据中心网络设计中，作为可转换性的代理，可以从根本上改变网络的属性，如平均跳数、拓扑规律性、集群属性等，以适应应用需求。网络可转换性方法有可能使带宽能够根据需要以细粒度的方式移动到传输热点。它还具有实现轻松实施和高带宽性能的潜力，方法是允许将数据中心网络组织/实施为分层的Clos网络，但能够将其转换为更平坦、层次更少的网络，如随机图。该项目将解决多个具有挑战性的子问题，这些子问题大致分为(1)构建块设计、(2)可转换网络设计和(3)控制算法设计。在给定可转换网络设计的情况下，将开发算法，以最大限度地发挥可用于不同用例的可兑换的好处。该项目还将在PI的实验室对服务器集群进行实施和实验评估。

Part 1:Increasingly, the main drivers for scientific discoveries and technological advances are data intensive computations that are performed in massive networked computing infrastructures called data centers. Such computations involve moving data between servers and processors across the data center network. It is important to be able to adapt the network to match changing and evolving network communication demands in order to keep data centers scalable, cost effective, and energy efficient. This project is aimed at solving that problem. It will develop a new approach for data center networking called 'network convertibility'. A convertible data center network transforms its structure dynamically and adapts to different network communication demands from data-intensive computations. In doing so, it can provide optimal performance for a wide range of applications without any manual network re-structuring, resulting in a more efficient data infrastructure to serve the many application areas that rely on data analytics. Part 2:This project will develop a network convertibility approach which leverages small port-count converter switches to convert topologies dynamically. The converter switches are strategically placed and finely integrated into the physical data center network design, and serve as the agents for convertibility that can fundamentally alter the network's properties such as average hop count, topological regularity, clustering properties, etc. to adapt to the application needs. The network convertibility approach has the potential to enable bandwidth to be moved to transmission hot spots in a fine-grained manner as needed. It also has the potential to achieve both easy implementation and high bandwidth performance by allowing the data center network to be organized/implemented as a hierarchical Clos network, but with the ability to convert it to a flatter and less hierarchical network like a random graph. The project will address multiple challenging sub-problems that are broadly classified into (1) building block designs, (2) convertible network designs, and (3) control algorithm designs. Given a convertible network design, algorithms will be developed to maximize the benefits of the available convertibility for different use cases. The project will also perform implementation and experimental evaluation on server clusters in the PI's lab.