US 9,755,948 B1Granted

Controlling an optical bypass switch in a data center based on a neural network output result

AssigneeNetronome Systems, Inc.

InventorNicolaas J. Viljoen

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Abstract

A flow of packets is communicated through a data center including an electrical switch, an optical switch, and multiple racks each including multiple network devices. The optical switch can be controlled to receive packet traffic from a network device via a first optical link and to output that packet traffic to another network device via a second optical link. One network device includes a neural network that analyzes received packets of the flow. The optical switch is controlled to switch based on a result of the analysis performed. In one instance, the optical switch is controlled such that immediately prior to the switching no packet traffic passes from the first optical link and through the optical switch and to the second optical link but such that after the switching packet traffic does pass from the first optical link and through the optical switch and to the second optical link.

Claims19

Dependent claims

A method involving an optical switch, wherein the optical switch can be controlled to receive packet traffic from a first network device via a first optical link and to output that packet traffic to a second network device via a second optical link, the method comprising:

(a) using a neural network to analyze packet traffic and determine a number of elephant flows passing through the first network device;
and
(b) controlling the optical switch based at least in part on a result of the analyzing of (a) to switch such that immediately prior to the switching of (b) no packet traffic passes from the first network device via first optical link and through the optical switch and via the second optical link to the second network device but such that after the switching of (b) packet traffic does pass from the first network device via the first optical link and through the optical switch and via the second optical link and to the second network device, wherein the optical switch performs circuit switching, wherein the electrical switch performs packet switching, and wherein the neural network is implemented on an Island-Based Network Flow Processor (IBNFP) included in the first network device.

A hybrid electrical/optical switch system, comprising:

a plurality of network devices, wherein one of the network devices includes a neural network and uses that neural network to generate information indicative of a number of elephant flows passing through the first network device that are passing through the network device or that have passed through the network device;
an electrical packet switch that is coupled by one or more network cable links to each of the network devices;
an optical circuit switch that is coupled by one or more network cable links to each of the network devices;
and
means for generating an optical switch configuration instruction and for sending the optical switch configuration instruction from the means and to the optical circuit switch, wherein the means is for receiving the information indicative of a characteristic and for using the information indicative of a characteristic to generate the optical switch configuration instruction, and wherein the optical switch performs circuit switching, wherein the electrical switch performs packet switching, and wherein the neural network is implemented on an Island-Based Network Flow Processor (IBNFP).

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.