Switch Fabric Architecture. Jack Regula January 12, 2001

Transcription

1 Switch Fabric Architecture Jack Regula January 12, 2001

2 PLX Switch Fabric Architecture Agenda Communications Infrastructure Trends What Is a Switch Fabric? How Does it Work? The Compelling Nature of Switch Fabric Platform Segmentation Architecture Overview

3 Communication Infrastructure Trends Access Laptop Wireless Tower Switch Edge Switch Router Wireless LAN Gateway Client DSL Base Station Controller Core Client Add/Drop MUX Add/Drop MUX Ethernet Switch DSLAM ATM Switch DWDM DWDM Remote Access Concentrator (RAC) Terabit Switch Router Terabit Switch Router Switch Enterprise Storage Cable Modem v.90 Media Gateway Digital Phones IP Fax Digital Set Top Box

4 Increasing Bandwidth Access Laptop Wireless Tower Switch Edge Switch Router Wireless LAN Gateway Client DSL OC-3 OC-12 OC-48 OC-192 DSLAM Base Station Controller ATM Switch Add/Drop MUX Core Add/Drop MUX Client Ethernet Switch 10G ENet G ENet 10/100 DWDM DWDM Remote Access Concentrator (RAC) Terabit Switch Router Terabit Switch Router Switch Enterprise Storage Cable Modem v.90 Media Gateway Digital Phones IP Fax Digital Set Top Box

5 What is a Switch Fabric? Switch Fabric An interconnected network of switching devices The fabric contains many input and output ports The fabric transports the data from inputs to outputs A fast, concurrent & transparent mechanism to transfer data High-speed, point-to-point links connecting switching devices Many switching devices working in parallel Sophisticated protocols to ensure reliable, ordered delivery of data in accordance with QOS A highly-available network Error detection mechanisms with correction via retry Fabric redundancy for fault tolerance Hot swap/live maintenance and expansion Fundamental Building Block for Networking Equipment

6 What is a Switch Fabric Controller? Switch Fabric To another switching device Fabric interface Switching Device Fabric interface To another switching device Bus interface To CPU or I/O A chip with fabric I/F and bus I/F Connects to other switching devices to form a switch fabric Connects a CPU or I/O subsystem into the fabric Implements the switch fabric protocols

7 Why Switch Fabric is Compelling Equipment Vendors Higher BW More ports/slots Higher-availability Longer distance Time-to-Market Silicon Vendors Corporations More BW for employees Connect remote/mobile users Gain new subscribers E-commerce! Switch Fabric Logical extension of roadmap New revenue streams Higher ASP Enables Next-Generation Equipment and End-Users

8 Switch Fabrics in Current Platforms Nortel Versalar Switch Router 2500 This high performance forwarding is achieved with a scalable, non-blocking switch fabric Cisco MGX8260 Media Gateway The system also provide additional scaling through the use of interchangeable switch fabrics growing the capacities from 5 Gbps to 15 Gbps Lucent CBX500 WAN Switch The CBX500 Multiservice WAN Switch is a high performance cell switch based on crosspoint technology as its core switch fabric Lucent NX64000 Multi-Terabit Switch/Router The NX6400 innovative switch fabric delivers 6.4 Tbps switch capacity per chassis. Next-Generation Platforms Demand More Complex Switch Fabrics

9 Evaluating a Switch Fabric Sufficient Non-blocking Throughput and Port Count? Is It a Complete Solution for High Availability? Transparent fault and error recovery Line card hot swap Live fabric expansion and maintenance Fabric redundancy Does it Preserve Transaction Order? Producer-consumer model Cells/transactions delivered in order, one time only, even if fault or transient error Legacy Support: Can you use same cards and packaging Does your software require modification or augmentation? Is it transparent? Boot, configuration, operation, fault recovery How far does it get you? Chip to chip, board to board, shelf to shelf, box to box Is it available?

10 Conceptual Switch Fabric Model Switching Devices CPU I/O I/O Switch Fabric ASIC Switch Fabric ASIC Switch Fabric ASIC Bus transactions exchange of switch fabric cells Switch Fabric ASIC Switch Fabric ASIC Switch Fabric ASIC CPU I/O I/O 1. Transports data from multiple sources to multiple destinations 2. Increases scalability (bandwidth, I/O ports, distance) 3. Improves reliability/availability (self-healing, fail-over)

11 Conceptual Model 2: Virtual - Bridges HOST bus no. reg. PRI PRIMARY Switch Fabric Controller SECONDARY SEC VIRTUAL PRI PRIMARY Switch Fabric Controller SECONDARY SUBORDINATE SEC SUB

12 PLX Switch Fabric Architecture Layered Architecture 15 feet distance Fabric Interface c Local Bus Cell Processing Engine Dual -Counter Rotating Rings c Bus Interface c Local Bus v2.2 Interface 32-bit, 33/66MHz

13 Performance Bandwidth of Link = L, N=Number of Nodes Best Case BW = 2LN Worst Case BW = 4L GBP GBP GBP Uniform Traffic Distribution: BW =8L (6.4 GB/sec; 51.2 Gbps) GBP GBP GBP GBP GBP

14 PLX Switch Fabric Controller Architecture

15 Application: Embedded / c CPU MEM Host Bridge

16 16-slot, 6U Compact Fabric J5 J4 J3 User I/O Connectors J2 J1 Low Profile 32-bit to SF Bridge Low Profile 32-bit to SF Bridge Low Profile 32-bit to SF Bridge Low Profile 32-bit to SF Bridge

17 Application #2: Compact Expansion c Host Br. c c CPU c c c c c c c c c

18 Dual Host Solution Domain A Domain B CPU CPU MEM Host Bridge Host Bridge MEM

19 Edge & Access Equipment Control Data

20 Edge & Access Equipment Data Control Short Design Cycle Investment Preservation Compatibility PLX Switch Fabric Performance (10x bandwidth) Scalability (100x) High Availability

21 Application Example Media Gateway Control Module Control Module Chip to Chip STM-1 STM-1 Gig Ethernet Gig Ethernet Multi- Channel Voice Multi- Channel Voice Multi- Channel Voice Multi- Channel Voice Multi- Channel Voice Backplane PLX Switch Fabric

22 Flexibility to Expand Shelf to Shelf

23 PLX Switch Fabric Architecture Summary Bandwidth and Scalability 51.2 Gbps 224 Bus Segments at 32/64 bits, 33/66 MHz 15 foot maximum distance for chassis to chassis A Complete Solution for High Availability! Transparent fault and error recovery Line card and fabric hot swap Integrated fabric redundancy Multi-host support with fail-over Transaction Order Fully Preserved! Producer-consumer model Cells/transactions delivered in order, Transactions complete exactly once; even if fault or transient error Complete Legacy Support! 100% compatible with all specifications Use same cards, packaging and software Fully Transparent: boot, configuration, operation, fault recovery Scalability and High-Availability on

24 PLX Switch Fabric Architecture Summary Scalability 224 bus segments 51.2 Gbps aggregate bandwidth 15 feet distance chassis-to-chassis High Availability Self-healing via retries & redirection Live node insertion Multi-host fail-over via SW Compatibility 100% compatible with all Specifications 33MHz or 66MHz interface Auxiliary Signal support for 4 devices External EEPROM for config and BIOS Electrical/Mechanical/Thermal IBM 0.25u CMOS 2.5Vcc supply, 5V/3.3V tolerant I/o 388-ball PBGA, 27mmx27mm Scalability and High-Availability on

25 PLX Switch Fabric Architecture Schedule Chips & Tools Availability Samples Q1 01 Rapid Development Kit (RDK) Q2 01 Rapid Development System (RDS) Q2 01

26 The Leading Supplier of High Speed Interconnect Silicon and Software to the Networking and Communication Industry

27 PLX Switch Fabric Architecture Live Demonstration at Bus&Board Demonstration of switching capabilities, throughput Suite 327 Monday 5:00-8:00 p.m. Tuesday noon-5:00 p.m.