Enabling flow-based routing control in data center networks using Probe and ECMP

Kang Xi; Yulei Liu; H. Jonathan Chao

doi:10.1109/INFCOMW.2011.5928885

Enabling flow-based routing control in data center networks using Probe and ECMP

Kang Xi, Yulei Liu, H. Jonathan Chao

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Abstract

Data center networks often use densely interconnected topologies to provide high bandwidth for internal data exchange. In such network, it is critical to employ effective load balancing schemes so that the bandwidth resources can be fully utilized. A simple and widely adopted scheme is equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) routing, which is generally supported by commodity switches and routers. However, research shows that ECMP cannot always ensure even traffic distribution among multiple paths. Consequently, ECMP cannot guarantee optimal resource utilization. We propose a scheme to complement ECMP with per-flow reroute. The basic idea is to perform ECMP-based load balancing by default. When a congestion occurs on a certain link, we dynamically reroute one or a few big flows to alternative paths to alleviate the congestion. The main contribution of our research is to design a scheme that enables per-flow reroute without introducing any modifications to IP switches and routers. All the flow-based operations and reroute functionalities are implemented in software that are installed on end hosts and centralized controllers. We call this scheme PROBE (Probe and RerOute based on ECMP). PROBE uses a traceroute-like approach to discover alternative paths and modifies packet headers to enable flow-based reroute. We show that PROBE is a low cost, low complexity and feasible scheme that can be easily implemented in existing data center networks that consist of commodity switches and routers.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011
Pages	608-613
Number of pages	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/INFCOMW.2011.5928885
State	Published - 2011
Event	2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011 - Shanghai, China Duration: Apr 10 2011 → Apr 15 2011

Publication series

Name	2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011

Other

Other	2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011
Country/Territory	China
City	Shanghai
Period	4/10/11 → 4/15/11

Keywords

ECMP
data center network
flow-based routing
load balancing
reroute

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Computer Networks and Communications
Communication

Access to Document

10.1109/INFCOMW.2011.5928885

Cite this

Enabling flow-based routing control in data center networks using Probe and ECMP. / Xi, Kang; Liu, Yulei; Chao, H. Jonathan.
2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011. 2011. p. 608-613 5928885 (2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

Xi, K, Liu, Y & Chao, HJ 2011, Enabling flow-based routing control in data center networks using Probe and ECMP. in 2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011., 5928885, 2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011, pp. 608-613, 2011 IEEE Conference on Computer Communications Workshops, INFOCOM WKSHPS 2011, Shanghai, China, 4/10/11. https://doi.org/10.1109/INFCOMW.2011.5928885

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Enabling flow-based routing control in data center networks using Probe and ECMP

Abstract

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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