AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |
Back to Blog
For example, leaf 1 to spine 1 and spine 1 to leaf 10. This fully meshed architecture allows any host connected to any leaf to connect others using only two hops, which is switch-to-switch connection. Secondly, all leaf switches are connected to every available spine switch in the fabric. For example, with a 2-way spine we can build networks that can support up to 6000 hosts, and with a 4-way spine we can build networks up to 12,000 hosts, and with a 16-way spine we can go over 100,000 of 10GbE hosts. The spine section of the network grows horizontally which restricts the layers of the network to two layers compared to traditional layer-3 architecture. The network can grow uniformly by simply adding more spine or leaf switches, and without changing the network performance. The backbone of this network architecture is called the spine, from which each leaf is connected to further extend network resources. The idea has been around since 1952 when Charles Clos first introduced the multistage circuit- switching network which is also known as Clos networks. The solution to these problems came from a network architecture which is today known as spine-and-leaf fabric. We need a network architecture that can grow uniformly and can provide uniform latency for modern applications. Having to wait for results can create unhappy customers. Distributed computing means servers talking to servers and working in parallel to create dynamic web pages and answers to customer questions it requires equal latency. Most of modern day e-commerce, social media, and cloud applications use distributed computing to serve their customers. Introduction to Spine-and-Leaf Fabric Network Architecture The traffic that flows through the layer 2 network within a single VLAN has a different latency compared to traffic flowing between different VLANs crossing through the layer 3 core. This results in different latency for different types of data traffic. If we have a big network, we normally divide them into smaller networks which we call virtual LANS (VLANS). We built networks with spanning-tree logic for a very long time until we encountered new problems.The first problem was that we were mostly limited with a dual core network which does not allow room for growth (in order to serve an expanding number of customers, our networks needed to grow accordingly). This provides resiliency to the infrastructure at the cost of half the utilization of the available bandwidth. Networks running on STP technology use the redundant links as failover in the event of a main link failure. STP blocks redundant links to prevent loops happening in the network. In a network consisting of multiple Ethernet switches, in order to stop broadcast packages such as address resolution protocol (ARP) requests from flooding and looping around the network, a technology called spanning tree protocol (STP) is used. This allows an Ethernet switch to move packets very quickly.ĭespite its efficiency, Ethernet also has some shortcomings when the network size grows. It only opens the outer envelope to read the layer 2 address without worrying about reading the IP address. An Ethernet switch looks into each and every package it receives before it switches it. Since its arrival in the 1980s as a local area network (LAN) protocol, Ethernet, with its simple algorithm and cheaper manufacturing costs, has been the driving force behind the data center and internet evolution. Difference between uplink and downlink ports Patch#We will also explore the advantages and disadvantages of two approaches in building our structured cabling main distribution area one approach uses classical fiber patch cables, and the other one uses optical mesh modules. Difference between uplink and downlink ports how to#In this article we will examine how to build and scale a four-way spine and progress to larger spines (such as 16-way spine) and maintain wire-speed switching capability and redundancy as we grow. With its fully meshed connectivity approach, spine-and-leaf architecture provided us the predictable high-speed network performance we were craving and also the reliability within our network switch fabric.Īlong with its advantages, spine-and-leaf architecture presents challenges in terms of structured cabling. By Mustafa Keskin, Corning Optical CommunicationsĪppearing In Cabling Installation and Maintenance April 2017Īs the size of networks grew during the last decade, we saw a shift from classical 3-tier network architectures to a flatter and wider spine-and-leaf architecture.
0 Comments
Read More
Leave a Reply. |