RDNA: Residue-defined networking architecture enabling ultra-reliable low-latency datacenters

Datacenter (DC) design has been moved toward the edge computing paradigm motivated by the need of bringing cloud resources closer to end users. However, the software defined networking (SDN) architecture offers no clue to the design of micro DCs (MDCs) for meeting complex and stringent requirements from next generation 5G networks. This is because canonical SDN lacks a clear distinction between functional network parts, such as core and edge elements. Besides, there is no decoupling between the routing and the network policy. In this paper, we introduce residue defined networking architecture (RDNA) as a new approach for enabling key features like ultra-reliable and low-latency communication in MDC networks. RDNA explores the programmability of residues number system as a fundamental concept to define a minimalist forwarding model for core nodes. Instead of forwarding packets based on classical table lookup operations, core nodes are tableless switches that forward packets using merely remainder of the division (modulo) operations. By solving a residue congruence system representing a network topology, we found out the algorithms and their mathematical properties to design RDNA’s routing system that: 1) supports unicast and multicast communication; 2) provides resilient routes with protection for the entire route; and 3) is scalable for 2-tier Clos topologies. Experimental implementations on Mininet and NetFPGA SUME show that RDNA achieves 600 ns switching latency per hop with virtually no jitter at core nodes and sub-millisecond failure recovery time