Multi-Stage Switch Fabric Layout for Faster Flow Control Response
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multi-stage switch fabrics, flow control information is not responded to in time due to delays in physical path transmission between switch elements, particularly when congestion occurs and upstream switch elements need to suspend packet sending.
Innovation Solution
Locating switch elements S1, S2, and S3 within the fabric card chassis (FCC) allows for timely response to flow control information by eliminating the need for fiber transmission between the fabric card chassis and line card chassis, enabling direct communication within the FCC.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If switch elements S1, S2, and S3 are distributed across different chassis (LCC and FCC) connected through fibers, then system scalability and modular deployment are improved, but flow control information transmission delay increases due to physical path transmission through fibers
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented into multiple chassis (LCC and FCC) for modular deployment and scalability, while within the FCC, switch elements S1, S2, and S3 are further segmented to be co-located on the same fabric card. This hierarchical segmentation allows the system to maintain scalability benefits while eliminating inter-chassis fiber transmission delays for flow control by confining critical switch elements to the same physical substrate.
Solution Approach 2:
Switch elements S1, S2, and S3 are merged into a single physical location on the fabric card within the FCC. This merging eliminates the need for fiber optic connections between these switch elements, thereby removing transmission delays for flow control information while preserving the overall distributed chassis architecture for scalability.
2Speed
If switch elements S1, S2, and S3 are co-located within the same fabric card chassis, then flow control information transmission speed is improved, but device complexity and fiber interconnection requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Switch elements S1, S2, and S3 are merged onto the same fabric card within the FCC, eliminating the need for external fiber interconnections between them. This merging reduces device complexity by removing fiber interconnection requirements while achieving fast flow control transmission through direct on-card communication paths.
3Power
If multiple fibers are used for interconnection between LCC and FCC, then bandwidth and transmission capacity are improved, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The flow control information transmission function is extracted from the fiber optic interconnection path and relocated to direct on-card communication paths within the FCC. This extraction eliminates the need for complex fiber interconnection systems while maintaining necessary bandwidth for flow control, thereby reducing system complexity and cost.
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-stage switch fabric (SF) is provided. The multi-stage SF includes a line card chassis (LCC) and a fabric card chassis (FCC). The FCC includes a stage-1 switch element (S1), a stage-2 switch element (S2), and a stage-3 switch element (S3), where the S3 corresponds to the S1, and the S2 is coupled to the S1 and S3 respectively. The LCC includes an interface component and a line card (LC) coupled to the interface component, where the interface component is coupled to the S1 and S3 in the FCC respectively. Through the technical solution under the present invention, when a switch element generates flow control information and requires another switch element or an LC to respond to the flow control information, a timely response can be received.