US 10,873,529 B2Granted

Method and apparatus for low latency data center network

AssigneeFuturewei Technologies, Inc.

InventorsFangping Liu, Zhenjiang Li, Serhat Nazim Avci

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Abstract

Methods and apparatus for determining and adjusting traffic rate limits to reduce queuing delays and latency in a data center network. In various embodiments, a network controller receives network topology information and traffic data relating to flows of the network. The traffic data includes traffic matrix information, flow path information, and pause frame distribution information. Based on this information, the network controller identifies server network node interfaces that are the source of a pause frame. Flows associated with such network node interfaces are also identified and ranked based on traffic volume. For ranked flows meeting predetermined criteria, reduced traffic rate limits are calculated and sent to associated server network node interfaces. In some embodiments, the reduced traffic rate limits are incrementally recovered when normal traffic resumes on a paused link. In further embodiments, traffic rate limits are also adjusted for flows of highly utilized and underutilized network node interfaces.

Claims18

Dependent claims

A computer-implemented method for reducing latency in a network having a plurality of servers, the method comprising:

receiving traffic data relating to flows of the network, the traffic data including traffic matrix information, flow path information, and pause frame distribution information;
identifying, based on network topology information and the pause frame distribution information, one or more network node interfaces of the plurality of servers that are a source of a pause frame;
identifying flows in the traffic matrix information which pass through the one or more network node interfaces;
determining, based on the traffic data and predetermined criteria, a reduced traffic rate limit for each of a plurality of the identified flows, the determining further comprising
ranking the identified flows based on respective flow traffic volume, and
decreasing a current traffic rate limit for each of a ranked flows in which the flow traffic volume exceeds the predetermined criteria;
identifying, based on the network topology information and the traffic data, one or more additional network node interfaces having a utilization rate greater than a predetermined threshold;
reducing an associated traffic rate limit for flows passing through the one or more additional network node interfaces with the utilization rate greater than the predetermined threshold;
determining adjusted traffic rate limits by incrementally increasing the reduced traffic rate limit for flows of a network node interface, of the one or more network node interfaces, identified as no longer a source of pause frame based on the reduced traffic rate limit;
determining further adjusted traffic rate limits by incrementally decreasing the reduced traffic rate limit for the identified flows of the network node interface when the network node interface is the source of a pause frame based on the adjusted traffic rate limits;
and
determining further adjusted traffic rate limits by incrementally increasing the reduced traffic rate limit for the identified flows of the network node interface when the network node interface is not the source of a pause frame based on the adjusted traffic rate limits.

9 more elements

A device comprising:

a memory storage comprising instructions;
at least one network interface;
and
one or more processors in communication with the memory storage, wherein the one or more processors execute the instructions to:
receive, via the at least one network interface, traffic data relating to flows of the network, the traffic data including traffic matrix information, flow path information, and pause frame distribution information;
identify, based on network topology information and the pause frame distribution information, one or more network node interfaces of a plurality of servers that are a source of a pause frame;
identify flows in the traffic matrix information which pass through the one or more network node interfaces;
determine, based on the traffic data and predetermined criteria, a reduced traffic rate limit for each of a plurality of the identified flows, and further comprising
ranking the identified flows based on respective flow traffic volume, and
decreasing a current traffic rate limit for each of the ranked flows in which the flow traffic volume exceeds the predetermined criteria;
identify, based on the network topology information and the traffic data, one or more additional network node interfaces having a utilization rate greater than a predetermined threshold;
reduce an associated traffic rate limit for flows passing through the one or more additional network node interfaces with the utilization rate greater than the predetermined threshold;
determine adjusted traffic rate limits by incrementally increasing the reduced traffic rate limit for flows of a network node interface, of the one or more network node interfaces, identified as no longer a source of pause frame based on the reduced traffic rate limit;
determine further adjusted traffic rate limits by incrementally decreasing the reduced traffic rate limit for the identified flows of the network node interface when the network node interface is a source of the pause frame based on the adjusted traffic rate limits;
and
determine further adjusted traffic rate limits by incrementally increasing the reduced traffic rate limit for the identified flows of the network node interface when the network node interface is not a source of the pause frame based on the adjusted traffic rate limits.

13 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.