Abstract: A network element includes a plurality of ports, multiple computational modules, configurable forwarding circuitry and a central block. The ports include child ports coupled to child network elements or network nodes and parent ports coupled to parent network elements. The computational modules collectively perform a data reduction operation of a data reduction protocol. The forwarding circuitry interconnects among ports and computational modules. The central block receives a request indicative of child ports, a parent port, and computational modules required for performing reduction operations on data received via the child ports, for producing reduced data destined to the parent port, to derive from the request a topology that interconnects among the child ports, parent port and computational modules for performing the data reduction operations and to forward the reduced data for transmission to the selected parent port, and to configure the forwarding circuitry to apply the topology.

Abstract: A network element includes a plurality of ports, multiple computational modules, configurable forwarding circuitry and a central block. The ports include child ports coupled to child network elements or network nodes and parent ports coupled to parent network elements. The computational modules collectively perform a data reduction operation of a data reduction protocol. The forwarding circuitry interconnects among ports and computational modules. The central block receives a request indicative of child ports, a parent port, and computational modules required for performing reduction operations on data received via the child ports, for producing reduced data destined to the parent port, to derive from the request a topology that interconnects among the child ports, parent port and computational modules for performing the data reduction operations and to forward the reduced data for transmission to the selected parent port, and to configure the forwarding circuitry to apply the topology.

Abstract: In one embodiment, a network device includes ports to serve as ingress ports and as egress ports, streaming aggregation circuitry to analyze received data packets to identify the data packets having payloads targeted for a data reduction process as part of an aggregation protocol, parse at least some of the identified data packets into payload data and headers, and inject the parsed payload data into the data reduction process, data reduction circuitry to perform the data reduction process, and including hardware data modifiers (HDMs), the HDMs being connected and arranged to reduce the parsed payload data in stages with a stage of the data reduction process being performed by a central HDM to receive data from at least two non-central HDMs and to output resultant reduced data, and a transport layer controller to manage forwarding of the resultant reduced data to at least one network node.

Abstract: Communication apparatus includes a plurality of interfaces for receiving and transmitting data packets from and to a network and a memory, which receives and stores context data with respect to multicast groups. Packet processing circuitry establishes reliable connections over the network with the receiving nodes in the multicast groups, and upon receiving from a packet source on the network an incoming unicast packet containing multicast data and containing multicast metadata that identifies a multicast group, sends an acknowledgment of the incoming unicast packet to the packet source, reads the context data from the memory with respect to the identified multicast group, and transmits multiple outgoing unicast packets containing the multicast data via respective egress interfaces to the receiving nodes in the multicast group over the reliable connections.

Abstract: Communication apparatus includes a plurality of interfaces for receiving and transmitting data packets from and to a network and a memory, which receives and stores context data with respect to multicast groups. Packet processing circuitry establishes reliable connections over the network with the receiving nodes in the multicast groups, and upon receiving from a packet source on the network an incoming unicast packet containing multicast data and containing multicast metadata that identifies a multicast group, sends an acknowledgment of the incoming unicast packet to the packet source, reads the context data from the memory with respect to the identified multicast group, and transmits multiple outgoing unicast packets containing the multicast data via respective egress interfaces to the receiving nodes in the multicast group over the reliable connections.