Stratosphere: A Fast Virtual Circuit Switch Layer for Data Center Network

Abstract

The hierarchical structure of the data center network is more and more unsuitable for increasing east-west traffic from virtual machines. Reconfigurable circuit switching is utilized to reduce regional hotspots, which causes the problem of routing oscillation. We propose a stratospheric network of the data center, which combines virtual circuit switching and Tor switches. It acts as a supplement to tropospheric transmission across the hierarchical structure to alleviate global hotspots. The link of VCS (Virtual Circuit Switching) is divided into virtual channels by time division, and packets are sliced into cells to be transmitted at a specific time slot. Via the direct connection and the relaying of VCS modules, the stratospheric network could support not only the sharing of uplinks between Tor switches but also dynamical forwarding. Experiments of parameter servers demonstrate that it accelerates the transmission of data, which could provide a direct and fast path, especially for east-west traffic.