Parallel Benes Network Configuration for High-Rate Switching
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing Benes networks require complex full reconfiguration, making them unsuitable for high-rate applications like microsecond burst switching due to inefficient routing controller configurations.
Innovation Solution
A routing controller with multiple processors that hierarchically determines and configures 2-by-2 switches in parallel, utilizing a nested topology to efficiently calculate switch settings for Benes networks, enabling fast reconfiguration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If full reconfiguration of Benes network is performed using traditional routing controllers, then all switches can be reconfigured to implement any permutation, but the reconfiguration time becomes too long for high-rate applications
Solution Approach 1:
The Benes network is divided into multiple independent subnetworks at different nesting levels. Each subnetwork can be configured independently by dedicated processors, allowing parallel processing of reconfiguration tasks. This segmentation transforms a single complex sequential reconfiguration problem into multiple smaller parallel problems, dramatically reducing overall reconfiguration time while maintaining full permutation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical nesting dimension to the Benes network structure, organizing switches into multiple levels (level 0, level 1, level 2, etc.). This dimensional organization allows processors to work on different nesting levels simultaneously, adding a temporal parallelism dimension that reduces reconfiguration time without sacrificing the network's ability to implement any permutation.
2Device complexity
If traditional single-processor routing controllers are used, then the control logic is simpler, but the computational complexity prevents fast reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple processors are merged into a single routing controller system, each processor handling specific subnetworks at specific nesting levels. This merging of processing resources creates a coordinated parallel system that maintains relatively simple individual processor logic while achieving high overall reconfiguration speed through collaborative operation.
Solution Approach 2:
Each processor in the system is designed with multi-functionality, capable of handling different types of switch configurations (bar state, cross state) and operating on different nesting levels. This universality allows the system to maintain flexibility and adaptability while using standardized processor modules, balancing device complexity with reconfiguration productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
A routing controller (30) includes an interface (68) and multiple processors (60). The interface is configured to receive a permutation (76) defining requested interconnections between N input ports and N output ports of a Benes network (24). The Benes network includes multiple 2-by-2 switches (42), and is reducible in a plurality of nested subnetworks associated with respective nesting levels, down to irreducible subnetworks including a single 2-by-2 switch. The multiple processors are configured to collectively determine a setting of the 2-by-2 switches that implements the received permutation, including determining sub-settings for two or more subnetworks of a given nesting level in parallel, and to configure the multiple 2-by-2 switches of the Benes network in accordance with the determined setting.