Analysis of the effects of XLFrames in a network

International audienceThe phenomenal increase in network capacity to hundreds and thousands of Gbits/s in the core as well as Gbits/s at the access, is soon to witness stupendous amounts of packets that have to be processed and switched at amplifying line rates. Looking into the future, we address the need for the integration of packets of larger size, called XLFrames (XLFs), into the future Internet framework. This paper analyses the effects of introducing XLFs in a network that has both packets and XLFs. We evaluate the gains in terms of processing power and throughput. As we observe that XLFs have an impact on loss rate and fairness, we study how, with minimal efforts at routers while keeping the existing protocols (TCP/UDP, IP), XLFs may integrate in the current scenario

From Packets to XLFrames: Sand and Rocks for Transfer of Mice and Elephants

International audienceLooking into the future, this paper presents the effects of having packets of large sizes, called XLFrames (XLFs), in a network. The analysis is motivated by the fact that the Internet is soon to witness stupendous amounts of traffic that have to be processed and switched at amplifying line rates; and this brings forth multiple challenges in the form of energy efficiency, network performance and end-host performance. Increasing the size of packets in the Internet has far-reaching incentives that otherwise appear hard to achieve. We foresee an Internet that multiplexes both packets (sand) and XLFs (rocks). As a first step, we analyse the effects of introducing XLFs in a network, and find the following: (i) the amount of packet-header processing is greatly reduced, (ii) while the fair multiplexing of XLFs with standard packets can be achieved using a careful queue management in routers