Meshed tree routing in folded-clos topologies

Data Center Networks (DCNs) are the backbone of data centers. Folded-Clos topologies are used in data centers networks due to the high redundancy and scalability they offer. Capacity challenges and advanced applications are placing increased demands on DCNs. While there have been a number of major studies focused on improving hardware and topology design for DCNs, fewer efforts have been directed towards investigating new algorithms and protocols to work efficiently on the highly connected and symmetrical topologies adopted in DCNs. Instead, we notice the integration of off-the-shelf protocols that are then retrofitted to the DCN communication needs. This increases the operational complexity in DCNs. In this article, we investigate a new Meshed Tree protocol (MTP) based off a novel Meshed Tree algorithm (MTA) to perform control and data plane operations in folded-Clos DCNs. We present implementation details of MTP, tested using the Global Environment for Network Innovation (GENI) testbed, and highlight features such as redundant route establishment and load balancing.