What You Need to Know about Optical Circuit Reconfigurations in Datacenter Networks

Increasing demand for flexibility in datacenter networks has led researchers to propose various designs of adaptable topologies using optical circuit switching. However, reconfigurations interrupt data transmissions that can diminish the benefit of adapting physical networks. The state-of-the-art lacks detailed models of end-to-end reconfiguration characteristics of involved networking components like end-host NICs and switches. The measurements of five commercially available programmable NICs and switches demonstrate that end-to-end reconfiguration delays indeed exhibit variability across devices and settings. The results suggest, however, that their behavior can be modeled, which opens new opportunities for scheduling algorithms.