ExRec: Experimental Framework for Reconfigurable Networks Based on Off-the-Shelf Hardware

Johannes Zerwas, Chen Avin, Stefan Schmid, Andreas Blenk

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

In order to meet the increasingly stringent throughput and latency requirements in datacenter networks, several innovative network architectures based on reconfigurable optical topologies have been proposed. Examples include demand-oblivious reconfigurable topologies such as RotorNet (SIGCOMM 2017), Opera (NSDI 2020), and Sirius (SIGCOMM 2021), as well as demand-aware topologies such as ProjecToR (SIGCOMM 2016). All these architectures feature attractive performance properties using specific prototypes. However, reproducing these experiments is often difficult due to missing hardware and publicly available software. This paper presents a flexible framework for reconfigurable networks based on off-the-shelf hardware, which supports experimentation and reproducibility at a small scale. We describe how our framework, ExReC, can be instantiated with different configurations, allowing us to emulate existing architectures and to study their trade-offs. Finally, we demonstrate the application of our approach to different use cases and workloads, including distributed machine learning training.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationANCS 2021 - Proceedings of the 2021 Symposium on Architectures for Networking and Communications Systems
PublisherAssociation for Computing Machinery, Inc
Pages66-72
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9781450391689
DOIs
StatePublished - 13 Dec 2021
Event16th ACM/IEEE Symposium on Architectures for Networking and Communications Systems, ANCS 2021 - Virtual, Online, United States
Duration: 13 Dec 202116 Dec 2021

Publication series

NameANCS 2021 - Proceedings of the 2021 Symposium on Architectures for Networking and Communications Systems

Conference

Conference16th ACM/IEEE Symposium on Architectures for Networking and Communications Systems, ANCS 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityVirtual, Online
Period13/12/2116/12/21

Keywords

  • data centers
  • demand-aware
  • reconfigurable networks

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hardware and Architecture
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Networks and Communications

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