Inner Outer Switch Traffic Bouncing for Deadlock Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
In networks, link failures can lead to packet loss as switches struggle to deliver packets to their next hop, resulting in substantial delays and dropped packets until the network is reconfigured or the failed link is repaired.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for rerouting packets by allowing inner switches to forward traffic to another outer switch if a link to the next hop is down, using a dedicated virtual channel and specific routing rules to prevent deadlock and ensure delivery through multiple bounces across outer switches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If packets are dropped when a link fails, then packet loss occurs, but network reconfiguration takes substantial time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-establishes multiple possible paths through the network topology before failures occur. When a link fails, switches can immediately switch to pre-planned alternative paths without waiting for network reconfiguration protocols, thereby reducing packet loss and reconfiguration time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate switching nodes that can receive packets from multiple sources and forward them to multiple destinations. These intermediaries enable packets to be rerouted through alternative paths when direct links fail, maintaining packet delivery reliability while avoiding lengthy reconfiguration processes
2Reliability
If traffic is bounced across outer switches, then packet loss is reduced, but network complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into inner switches and outer switches with distinct roles. Inner switches handle packet forwarding while outer switches handle the bouncing/rerouting functionality. This segmentation distributes complexity across multiple components rather than concentrating it in a single complex switching fabric
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic path selection where switches can adaptively choose between direct links and bounced paths based on real-time link status. This dynamic behavior allows the network to maintain simplicity under normal conditions while automatically activating complex rerouting only when necessary, balancing reliability improvements with complexity management
Data Source
AI summary
A network may be configured to route traffic in such a way as to avoid packet loss in an event of link failure. The network may include a plurality of inner switches and a plurality of outer switches coupled to the plurality of inner switches. Each inner switch may be configured to receive traffic, determine whether a link to a next hop for the traffic is down, and forward the traffic to another outer switch if the link to the next hop is down. Each outer switch may be configured to bounce traffic received from the first inner switch to a second inner switch if the traffic is received as a result of determining that the link from the inner switch to the next hop is down. The second inner switch may then deliver the traffic, or further bounce the traffic off another outer switch.