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Optimizing the configuration of combined high-radix switches

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Abstract

Combined high-radix switches are an attractive option for building high-radix switches. The idea basically consists in combining several current smaller single-chip switches to obtain switches that have a greater number of ports. The performance of these kinds of switches varies depending on their internal configuration because the subnetwork interconnecting all the internal switches could become a bottleneck if an inappropriate internal configuration is established. In this paper, we show how to obtain the optimal internal switch configuration by applying a specific methodology. We highlight the impact of internal switch configuration on the network performance by means of case studies.

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Notes

  1. We distinguish between network-level connection pattern and SCP. The former is the traditional interconnection pattern connecting switch-based networks (e.g., butterfly permutation in multistage interconnection networks), and the latter refers to how the ports of these kinds of high-radix switches are mapped to the ports of the internal switches.

  2. In order to identify each type of \(T\)-switch, we are going to use two letters: the first letter identifies the traffic pattern: complement (\(\pi \)), perfect-shuffle (\(\sigma \)), and uniform (\(\upsilon \)) [10]; the second one is used to distinguish the type of \(T\)-switch.

  3. Pricing from http://www.costcentral.com—$5217 for 24-port QLogic SilverStorm 9024 IBA switch, and $5725 for 36-port QLogic SilverStorm 12200 IBA switch.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been jointly supported by MINECO and EU (FEDER funds) under the Projects TIN2012-38341-C01, TIN2012-38341-C04, and by Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha under the Project PEII-2014-028-P. Francisco J. Andujar is also funded by MICINN under FPU Grant AP2010-4680.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computing Systems Department, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Campus Universitario s/n, P.O. Box 02071, Albacete, Spain

    Juan A. Villar, Francisco J. Andujar, Francisco J. Alfaro & Jose L. Sanchez

  2. Department of Systems Data Processing and Computers, Technical University of Valencia, Camino de Vera s/n, P.O. Box 46022, Valencia, Spain

    Jose Duato

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  1. Juan A. Villar
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  2. Francisco J. Andujar
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Correspondence to Juan A. Villar.

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Villar, J.A., Andujar, F.J., Alfaro, F.J. et al. Optimizing the configuration of combined high-radix switches. J Supercomput 71, 2614–2643 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11227-015-1408-x

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