Network switch for interconnecting computing devices

A method comprising:

• receiving, at a switching fabric that is communicably coupled to a plurality of first ports corresponding to a local cluster and a plurality of second ports corresponding to one or more remote clusters, an information unit from a first remote cluster and through one of the plurality of second ports communicably coupled to the first remote cluster, the information unit comprising (i) a data unit encapsulated using a first protocol and (ii) the encapsulated data unit further encapsulated using a second protocol, the data unit originating from a second processing unit in the first remote cluster,
• wherein the plurality of first ports are configured to interconnect a plurality of first processing units in the local cluster using the first protocol, and the plurality of second ports are configured to interconnect one or more first processing units with one or more second processing units distributed among the one or more remote clusters using the first protocol in conjunction with the second protocol, and
• wherein the one or more remote clusters are distinct from the local cluster;
• removing, by the switching fabric, an encapsulation corresponding to the second protocol from the information unit to obtain the data unit encapsulated using the first protocol;
• determining, by the switching fabric and using the first protocol encapsulation of the data unit, a destination for the data unit as one of the one or more first processing units in the local cluster;
• removing, by the switching fabric, the encapsulation corresponding to the first protocol to obtain the data unit;
• and
• forwarding, by the switching fabric, the data unit to the destination using one of the plurality of first ports that is coupled to the destination.