Volur: Concurrent Edge/Core Route Control in Data Center Networks

Abstract

A perennial question in computer networks is where to place functionality among components of a distributed computer system. In data centers, one option is to move all intelligence to the edge, essentially relegating switches and middleboxes, regardless of their programmability, to simple static routing policies. Another is to add more intelligence to the middle of the network in the hopes that it can handle any issue that arises. This paper presents an architecture, called Volur, that provides a third option by facilitating the co-existence of an intelligent network with an intelligent edge. The key architectural principle of Volur is predictability of the network. We describe the key design requirements, and show through case studies how our approach facilitates more democratic innovation of all parts of the network. We also demonstrate the practicality of our architecture by describing how to implement the architecture on top of existing hardware and by deploying a prototype on top of a large production data center.