End-host based mechanisms for implementing Flow Scheduling in GridNetworks

In Grids, transfer jobs and network resources need to be managed in a more deterministic way than in the Internet. New approaches like flow scheduling are proposed and studied as alternatives to traditional QoS and reservation proposals. To enable such flow scheduling approaches, run-time mechanisms controlling flow sending time and rate have to be implemented in the data plane. This paper quantify and compares in a range of latency conditions, such end-host based mechanisms combined with transport protocols to instantiate different scheduling strategies. We show that, in high speed network, a single-rate scheduling strategy implemented by an AIMD-based protocol with packet pacing mechanism offers predictable performance and is insensitive to latency. This paper also highlights the limits of other strategies and rate limitation mechanisms like token bucket which may present unpredictability and other drawbacks

Investigation of Ethernet switches behavior in presence of contending flows at very high-speed

This paper examines the interactions between layer 2 (Ethernet) switches and TCP in high bandwidth delay product networks. First, the behavior of a range of Ethernet switches when two long lived connections compete for the same output port is investigated. Then, the report explores the impact of these behaviors on TCP protocol in long and fast networks (LFNs). Several conditions in which scheduling mechanisms introduce heavy unfair bandwidth sharing and loss burst which impact TCP performance are shown

Computing Networks: From Cluster to Cloud Computing

International audience"Computing Networks" explores the core of the new distributed computing infrastructures we are using today: the networking systems of clusters, grids and clouds. It helps network designers and distributed-application developers and users to better understand the technologies, specificities, constraints and benefits of these different infrastructures' communication systems. Cloud Computing will give the possibility for millions of users to process data anytime, anywhere, while being eco-friendly. In order to deliver this emerging traffic in a timely, cost-efficient, energy-efficient, and reliable manner over long-distance networks, several issues such as quality of service, security, metrology, network-resource scheduling and virtualization are being investigated since 15 years. "Computing Networks" explores the core of clusters, grids and clouds networks, giving designers, application developers and users the keys to better construct and use these powerful infrastructures

Réseaux de calcul - des grappes aux nuages de calcul

National audienceRéseaux de calcul étudie le cœur de trois nouvelles architectures informatiques distribuées : les grappes, les grilles et les nuages de calcul. Il présente leur système nerveux central respectif constitué d'un réseau complexe d'interconnexion et de protocoles de communication spécifiques. Le lecteur trouvera les clés pour comprendre les contraintes et les problématiques essentielles auxquelles doit faire face un réseau de calcul : faible latence, très haut débit, haute performance, prédictibilité et sécurité. Les différents concepts et les technologies hétérogènes utilisées sont développés afin de permettre d'appréhender aussi bien les caractéristiques et les évolutions des composants physiques que les logiciels et les protocoles de communication spécifiques. Cet ouvrage met en perspective les solutions et les technologies mises en œuvre dans les grappes, les grilles et les nuages pour guider les programmeurs et les utilisateurs d'applications de calcul distribué vers des modèles de programmation et d'utilisation efficaces adaptés à chaque besoin

A survey on core switch designs and algorithms

Tremendous amounts of effort have gone into research on switch designs and architectures. This survey attempts to sketch the evolution of the modern switch architectures. The survey covers the literature over the period 1987-2008 on switch architectures. Starting with the simple crossbar switch, we explore various architectures such as Output queueing, Input queueing, Combined Input/Output queueing, buffered crosspoint etc., that have evolved during this period. We discuss the pros and cons of these designs, so as to shed light on the path of evolution of switch architecture

Extending Routing Games to Flows over Time

Routing game presents an interesting framework to analyse the practical problem of source routing in the Internet. It is particularly useful in quantifying the inefficiency of selfish user behavior that results in any transportation network without any central authority. This game assumes that the only user criteria for decision making is path cost. In this work, we take a step further, and model a routing game where user decision is based not only on path but also on time. We show that, under convex cost functions, this new routing game over time can be mapped to the classical routing game, thereby presenting a model that can exploit well-established results in the subject. Using a simple example, we demonstrate the usefulness of the model, and motivate the need for resource coordination to minimize inefficiency or cost

Optimizing deadline-driven bulk data transfers in overlay networks

Abstract—Deadline-driven bulk data transfers frequently occur in overlay networks running data-intensive, distributed workflow applications, such as grid and cloud environments. What distinguishes such transfers from other Internet traffic is that overlay nodes should cooperate towards the common goal of delivering all inter-dependent data timely, rather than follow individual, selfish goals. For such scenarios, we propose scheduling transfers in overlays in a globally optimal manner with respect to minimizing overall network congestion. Our optimization jointly addresses routing of transfers within the overlay and the time-domain scheduling of transfer bandwidths. We formally define and address the associated problem, the Bulk Data Routing and Transfer(BDRT) and present a linear programming-based solution to it, optimal in both routing and time domains. We additionally explore alternative approaches based on heuristic routing strategies, both oblivious and time-domain optimized. We evaluate these solutions via both PlanetLab trace-driven simulations and Internet transfer experiments, on the Intrigger wide-area grid and PlanetLab. Evaluation shows that our approach finds optimal solutions, based on estimations of job arrival times, deadlines and transfer volumes. Index Terms—congestion minimization, deadline-driven transfers, routing overlays, Interne