Abstract: A device, communication system, and method are provided. In one example, a system for routing traffic is described that includes a network device. The network device includes a plurality of ports to facilitate communication over a plurality of planes in a multiplane network. The network device also includes a first interface that presents the plurality of ports as a single plane agnostic port to software, and a second interface that presents each port in the plurality of ports as a separate port to the software.

Abstract: An apparatus, system, and method include, for each of two or more switches of a communication network, identifying a set of routing paths from the switch to a destination node based on a topology associated with the communication network. The set of routing paths include a first subset of routing paths and a second subset of routing paths. The topology includes an indication of a convergence of the first subset of routing paths at a node between the switch and the destination node. The apparatus, system, and method include allocating a data flow to a first routing path of the first subset of routing paths and a second routing path of the second subset of routing paths according to a target data flow rate common to the first routing path and the second routing path.

Abstract: A computing system including network elements arranged in at least one group. A plurality of the network elements are designated as spines and another plurality are designated as leaves, the spines and leaves are interconnected in a bipartite topology, and at least some of the spines and leaves are configured to: receive in a first leaf, from a source node, packets destined to a destination node via a second leaf, forward the packets via a first link to a first spine and to the second leaf via a second link, in response to detecting that the second link has failed, apply a detour path from the first leaf to the second leaf, including a detour link in a spine-to-leaf direction and another detour link a leaf-to-spine direction, and forward subsequent packets, which are received in the first leaf and are destined to the second leaf, via the detour path.

Abstract: An apparatus includes an interface and a processor. The interface communicates with a network including network elements interconnected in a Cartesian topology. The processor defines first and second groups of turns, each turn includes a hop from a previous network element to a current network element and a hop from the current network element to a next network element. Based on the turns, the processor specifies rules that when applied to packets traversing respective network elements, guarantee that no deadlock conditions occur in the network. The rules for a given network element include (i) forwarding rules to reach a given target without traversing the turns of the second group, and (ii) Virtual Lane (VL) modification rules for reassigning packets, which traverse turns of the first group and which are assigned to a first VL, to a different second VL. The processor configures the given network element with the rules.

Abstract: A router includes routing circuitry and a plurality of ports. The routing circuitry is configured to receive from a first subnetwork, via one of the ports, a packet destined to be delivered to a target node located in a second subnetwork, to select a mapping, from among two or more mappings, depending on a topological relation between the first subnetwork and the second subnetwork, to map a Layer-3 address of the packet into a Layer-2 address using the selected mapping, and to forward the packet via another one of the ports to the Layer-2 address.

Abstract: An apparatus includes an interface and a processor. The interface communicates with a network including network elements interconnected in a Cartesian topology. The processor defines first and second groups of turns, each turn includes a hop from a previous network element to a current network element and a hop from the current network element to a next network element. Based on the turns, the processor specifies rules that when applied to packets traversing respective network elements, guarantee that no deadlock conditions occur in the network. The rules for a given network element include (i) forwarding rules to reach a given target without traversing the turns of the second group, and (ii) Virtual Lane (VL) modification rules for reassigning packets, which traverse turns of the first group and which are assigned to a first VL, to a different second VL. The processor configures the given network element with the rules.

Abstract: A router includes routing circuitry and a plurality of ports. The routing circuitry is configured to receive from a first subnetwork, via one of the ports, a packet destined to be delivered to a target node located in a second subnetwork, to select a mapping, from among two or more mappings, depending on a topological relation between the first subnetwork and the second subnetwork, to map a Layer-3 address of the packet into a Layer-2 address using the selected mapping, and to forward the packet via another one of the ports to the Layer-2 address.

Abstract: A computing system including network elements arranged in at least one group. A plurality of the network elements are designated as spines and another plurality are designated as leaves, the spines and leaves are interconnected in a bipartite topology, and at least some of the spines and leaves are configured to: receive in a first leaf, from a source node, packets destined to a destination node via a second leaf, forward the packets via a first link to a first spine and to the second leaf via a second link, in response to detecting that the second link has failed, apply a detour path from the first leaf to the second leaf, including a detour link in a spine-to-leaf direction and another detour link a leaf-to-spine direction, and forward subsequent packets, which are received in the first leaf and are destined to the second leaf, via the detour path.