Design Review
Specifications Minimum Extra 64 port OC-48, aggregate capacity of 160Gbps, Fair Queuing. Extra RED MPLS, QoS Multicast Scalability
Components Input Port processing (IPP) Buffers Switch Scheduling Output port processing Fair Queuing
Input Port Processing Line termination and data link processing Break variable length packet into fixed length Lookup routing information Process packets at "line speed” i.e. close to 5 million routing lookup per second. Do simple IP packet processing functions Decrease TTL, Checksum etc. MPLS or Hardware Filters
Possible Solutions for IPP Transceiver for line termination and PHY processing HFCT-5402D by Agilent (HP) VSC8140 by Vitesse Framer for fixed size cells VSC9112 by Vitesse Network Processor IXP1200 by Intel (Level One) APP1200 and APP1400 by Agere Generic micro-processor
Where to Queue? Input port Output port Does not require high fabric speedup. OPP can be done at reasonable speeds Difficult to do output scheduling (FQ) Output port Easy to schedule packets on the link (FQ) Fabric and OPP have to have high speedup.
Buffers Our initial decision: Use standard SDRAM for buffers Buffer packets on the input port Handle FQ at the input port (somehow) Use standard SDRAM for buffers PC-100 10ns access latency Dimension buffer by simulation Buffers for each input port.
Switch Scheduling We will simulate with various scheduling mechanisms including Multicast schemes. iSLIP, RR, FCFS etc Virtual Output Queues to avoid HOL Nominal Fabric speedup and priority classes. Implement both Drop-tail and RED buffer schemes.
Switch Fabric Shoot for 1024x1024 but backup is 64x64 Vitesse VSC836 takes too long to configure!! Use AMCC S2018 17x17 in a 3-stage CLOS network. Other options?
Output Port Processing and scheduling Basic de-framing and physical level processing. FQ discipline WFQ W2FQ How do we do this with input buffering?
Plan of Action Decide on IPP and Network Processor. Concentrate on switch fabric choice. Analyze switch scheduling schemes. Try to implement FQ with input port buffers. Implement RED and Drop Tail. Develop a simulator for the switch. Experimentally determine the buffer size.