IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA'01)
Influence of Network Size and Load on the Performance of Reconfiguration Protocols
Cambridge, Massachusette
October 08-October 10
ISBN: 0-7695-1432-4
Switched point-to-point interconnection networks provide the high bandwidth and low latency required by current distributed applications. When the topology changes, a reconfiguration of the routing tables is performed to maintain network connectivity. In order to prevent deadlock, traditional reconfiguration schemes discard application traffic during the reconfiguration process. The consequence is that the network cannot provide the bandwidth demanded by user applications. In order to solve this problem, we proposed two deadlock-free schemes that allow traffic through the network while the reconfiguration is being performed. By using these schemes, the network is able to fulfill the applications requirements. In this paper, we evaluate these traditional and novel reconfiguration schemes. In particular, we analyze the impact of network size and load on their behavior. Application traffic has been modeled by means of a self-similar pattern. Simulation results clearly show the large performance degradation associated with the traditional approach and the significant benefits that can be obtained by using dynamic reconfiguration techniques.
Index Terms:
clusters of workstations, interconnection networks, irregular topologies, network reconfiguration, partial progressive reconfiguration, system availability, deadlock avoidance
Citation:
Rafael Casado, Aurelio Bermúdez, Francisco J. Quiles, José Duato, "Influence of Network Size and Load on the Performance of Reconfiguration Protocols," nca, pp.0046, IEEE International Symposium on Network Computing and Applications (NCA'01), 2001