SHF: Small: Designing Expandable and Cost-Effective Server-Centric Interconnects for Data Centers

在现代数据中心中，数据中心网络的性能起着至关重要的作用。目前，dcn主要分为交换机中心网络和服务器中心网络两大类。在以交换机为中心的网络中，交换机负责各种任务，如路由和寻址，而服务器仅用于在网络中发送和接收数据包。在以服务器为中心的网络中，像路由这样的计算密集型任务被放在服务器上，服务器不仅作为终端主机，而且作为彼此的中继节点。以服务器为中心的网络的一个显著优势是，可以大幅降低网络硬件成本，因为考虑到大多数复杂的网络任务已经转移到计算资源丰富的服务器上，廉价的商用交换机就足够了。此外，由于服务器比交换机更容易编程，以服务器为中心的网络可以加速网络创新的进程。由于在DCNs中部署以服务器为中心的网络的重要性和机遇，本研究系统地调查了构建具有保证性能的经济高效的以服务器为中心的DCNs的基本和具有挑战性的问题。本研究的目的是为数据中心设计新颖、可扩展且经济高效的以服务器为中心的互连和相关路由算法。本研究探讨了数据中心中独特的新特性和技术，以建立具有成本效益的双端口服务器或任何固定数量的NIC端口互连。更具体地说，研究重点是以下紧密耦合的问题：(1)使用当前市场上可用的商用现货（COTS）交换机和双端口服务器构建具有成本效益的DCN互连；(2)有效的单播、广播和组播路由算法，充分利用新型互连；(3)采用网络虚拟化技术，为产业界和学术研究提供更灵活的解决方案；(4)采用符合未来服务器发展趋势的任意固定NIC端口的服务器，构建具有成本效益的DCN互连；(5)通过广泛的模拟和在现实网络原型中实施所提出的方案，进行全面的性能评估。该研究结合理论分析、算法设计、网络优化、仿真和原型技术，提供了一个全面的工作解决方案，使高性能的下一代DCNs成为可能。本研究希望影响以服务器为中心的DCNs的基本设计原则。这项研究的结果有可能在保持低成本的同时提高dcn的性能，并促进目前托管在数据中心的众多云计算应用程序。该项目的目标是培养研究生，并促进女性工程专业学生的参与。该项目的重要发现将通过会议、期刊和网站向研究界传播。

In modern data centers, the performance of data center networks (DCNs) plays a critical role. Currently, DCNs are mainly divided into two categories: switch-centric networks and server-centric networks. In a switch-centric network, switches are responsible for a variety of tasks such as routing and addressing, while servers are only used to send and receive packets in the network. In a server-centric network, the computational intensive tasks like routing are put on the servers, which act not only as end hosts, but also as relay nodes for each other. A significant advantage of server-centric networks is that network hardware cost can be drastically reduced, as inexpensive commodity switches are sufficient given that most complex network tasks have been shifted to servers where computation resources are abundant. Moreover, since servers are much more programmable than switches, server-centric networks can accelerate the process of network innovation. Motivated by the importance and opportunities of deploying server-centric networks in DCNs, this research systematically investigates the fundamental and challenging issues towards building cost-efficient server-centric DCNs with guaranteed performance.The objective of this research is to design novel, extendable and cost-effective server-centric interconnects and associated routing algorithms for data centers. This research explores the unique novel features and techniques in data centers to build cost-efficient interconnects with dual-port servers or any fixed number of NIC ports. More specifically, the research focuses on following closely coupled issues: (1) construct cost-efficient DCN interconnects using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) switches and dual-port servers that are available in current markets; (2) efficient routing algorithms for unicast, broadcast and multicast that can sufficiently take advantage of the novel interconnects; (3) employ network virtualization technology to offer a more flexible solution to both industry and academic research; (4) construct cost-efficient DCN interconnects using servers with any fixed number of NIC ports that meet the trend of future servers; (5) conduct a comprehensive performance evaluation through extensive simulations and implementation of proposed schemes in a realistic network prototype. The proposed research combines theoretical analysis, algorithm design, network optimization, simulation and prototyping techniques to provide a comprehensive working solution that enables high performance next generation DCNs. This research hopes to impact fundamental design principles of server-centric DCNs. The outcome of this research has the potential to boost the performance of DCNs while keeping the cost low, and facilitate numerous cloud computing applications currently hosted in data centers. A project goal is to train graduate students and promote the participation of female engineering students. The important findings of this project are to be disseminated to the research community by way of conferences, journals and web site access.