RRect: A Novel Server-centric Data Center Network with High Availability

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a novel server-centric network for data centers, called RRect. Compared to existing server-centric networks, RRect has a linear diameter to the network order and abundant parallel paths with near-equal lengths, so that traffic in RRect enjoys a short and predictable communication latency. We present an efficient routing algorithm to find paths between any pair of servers in RRect. A complete addressing scheme and recursive RRect construction procedure are also provided in this paper. Meanwhile, to meet today's stringent high availability requirement, unlike existing server-centric network structures, RRect can be configured into redundancy and failover scheme, in which the backup server can fully take the place of the corresponding malfunctioning server without losing topological advantages, such as multiple near-equal parallel paths. Our comprehensive simulations show that RRect gives a better average path lengths and a more balanced path distribution among all pairs of servers. Meanwhile, RRect can maintain the same performance on many critical metrics as BCube, including short diameter and excellent aggregate throughput. All these features make RRect a very empirical structure for enterprise dater center network products.