Abstract: Devices, networks, systems, methods, and processes for onboarding a network device in a cluster in a Disaggregated Scheduled Fabric (DSF) are described herein. To associate with the cluster, the network device can determine a cluster size. The network device may determine a switch identifier based on the cluster size. The network device can reserve a set of system ports for in-band communication. The network device may assign at least one in-band communication interface to the set of system ports. The network device may instantiate a Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) instance for the at least one in-band communication interface. The network device can generate a custom Media Access Control (MAC) address and a custom Internet Protocol (IP) address based on the switch identifier. The network device may establish one or more in-band communication sessions with other network devices in the cluster based on the at least one in-band communication interface.

Abstract: Devices, systems, methods, and processes for link status propagation are provided. In modern networks, transmitting a single bit of information about link status of each host-side link in the network may require a large amount of data, consuming considerable bandwidth and processing power. To address these concerns, a network device having a plurality of host-side ports coupled to same ordinal processing units in a set of host devices and associated with a rail identifier is provided. The network device determines first link status information associated with communication links of the network device and receives second link status information from other network devices having rail identifiers that match the rail identifier of the network device. The network device transmits the first and second link status information to the same ordinal processing units and a host device aggregates link status information received at corresponding processing units to obtain a cluster wide view.

Abstract: Existing network architectures may experience latency variabilities due to varied cable lengths and diverse network paths available in a network fabric. Therefore, devices, systems, methods, and processes for facilitating enhanced latency-aware routing are described herein. A routing logic in a network fabric classifies two or more network paths, coupling a first network device to a second network device, into a plurality of groups based on latency attributes of the network paths. The routing logic in response to receiving a traffic flow at the first network device for the second network device, selects from the plurality of groups, a target group and routes the traffic flow to the second network device via at least one network path in the target group. If the target group includes more than one network path, the routing logic executes load balancing among a set of network paths classified into the target group.

Abstract: Devices, networks, systems, methods, and processes for onboarding a network device in a cluster in a Disaggregated Scheduled Fabric (DSF) are described herein. To associate with the cluster, the network device can determine a cluster size. The network device may determine a switch identifier based on the cluster size. The network device can reserve a set of system ports for in-band communication. The network device may assign at least one in-band communication interface to the set of system ports. The network device may instantiate a Virtual Routing and Forwarding (VRF) instance for the at least one in-band communication interface. The network device can generate a custom Media Access Control (MAC) address and a custom Internet Protocol (IP) address based on the switch identifier. The network device may establish one or more in-band communication sessions with other network devices in the cluster based on the at least one in-band communication interface.