IMPROVED NETWORK TOPOLOGIES FOR DEADLOCK-FREE ROUTING

Abstract: In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, a number of improved network topologies are provided that have been selected to improve network performance based on various performance characteristics. The topologies are also selected to facilitate network reconfiguration, including adding nodes and removing nodes. As a result, these network topologies do not follow a rigid, predefined pattern; rather, these topologies have been selected for network performance purposes, as well as reconfiguration purposes. When using one of these topologies, the network can be reconfigured with a minimal amount of recabling, thus reducing the amount of time required for reconfiguration. In this system, each network also utilizes static routing tables that perform deadlock-free routing in an optimized manner to reduce the amount of communication overhead when routing traffic. As a result, the provided deadlock-free routing incurs less communications overhead than some conventional systems while still avoiding deadlock.

Description: Improved Network Topologies for Deadlock-Free Routing Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to data processing systems and, more particularly, to improved network topologies for implementing deadlock-free routing. Background of the Invention Networks comprise a number of nodes that are interconnected via links. As used herein, the term "node" refers to any device capable of communicating, such as a computer, router, switch, network processor, or symmetric multi -processor. The specific configuration of nodes and links in a network is referred to as the "network topology." "Reconfiguring a network" refers to changing the topology of the network (e.g. adding or removing a node). Each node routes network traffic by interacting with internal buffers that store packets. Specifically, each of a node's links typically has an associated buffer ("receive buffer") that temporarily stores packets received via the link, and each of a node's links typically has an associated buffer ("send buffer") that temporarily stores packets before they are sent across the link. When a packet is received by a node that is not its destination, the packet arrives in one of the node's receive buffers. The node then determines which link to send the packet over using a routing algorithm. After the appropriate link is selected, the packet is stored in that link's send buffer for transmission. However, sometimes the node at the other end of the selected link is busy; in which case, the receive buffer for the link may be full. Thus, the packet cannot be sent and remains in the send buffer until the other node's receive buffer is emptied. As a result, network traffic can form congestion which can lead to deadlock. Deadlock occurs when a cycle of multi-hop packets are each waiting on a busy node on the next hop. A "multi-hop" packet refers to a packet that is routed through at least one node before reaching its destination. A deadlock may occur, for example, in a network of three nodes (node 1, node 2 and node 3), where node 1 is waiting to send a multi-hop packet to node 2 (which is not the packet's destination), where node 2 is waiting to send a multi-hop packet to node 3 (which is not the packet's destination), and where node 3 is waiting to send a multi-hop packet to node 1 (which is not the packet's destination). Since each node is waiting on the other, a stalement or deadlock occurs, and these nodes are rendered nonoperational. To prevent deadlock from occurring, some networks have been developed that route traffic using predefined calculations. One family of networks that routes traffic in this way includes the hypercube networks depicted in Fig. 1 A. The hypercube family of networks are configured according to a predefined pattern. The hypercube networks accommodate only networks with a number of nodes that can be expressed as a power of 2. Accordingly, Fig. 1 A depicts the hypercube networks having 2, 4, 8, and 16 nodes. The pattern that the hypercube networks follow is apparent from an examination of the different topologies. To prevent deadlock in the hybercube networks, routing is performed using predefined calculations. For example, Fig. IB depicts an example of a hypercube network of 8 nodes that performs this type of routing. Each node of the network is associated with a binary number (e.g., 010). When routing a packet through the network, each node performs a calculation to determine to which node to send the packet. According to this calculation, the number of the current node is compared to the number of the destination node of the packet to find the most significant bit that differs. The packet is then forwarded to a node whose number differs from the number of the current node in exactly that bit position. For example, node 000 will send a packet destined for node 111 to node 100 instead of 010 or 001 , because the third bit position (from the right) is the most significant. This calculation is performed at each node until the destination node is reached. Use of this calculation on each node prevents deadlock by preventing a cycle from occurring in the network. That is, there are no sequences of multi-hop packets that form a cycle. However, configuring the networks using a predefined pattern and using the predefined calculations to perform routing leads to inefficient routing, because little attention is given to optimizing either the network topology or the routing to reduce communications overhead. For example, traffic routed from node 000 to node 111 must take 3 hops: starting at 000 and traveling to 100, to 110, and then to 111. It is thus desirable to improve network configuration and routing to reduce communication overhead. In conventional static-routing networks, reconfiguring a network requires four steps as shown in Fig. 1 C. A static-routing network uses statically-defined routing tables to perform routing. The routing is considered to be static because if the network is reconfigured, all of the routing tables need to be manually updated to account for the reconfiguration. For example, if the reconfiguration involves removing a node, the routing tables need to be updated to avoid routing through this node. And if the reconfiguration involves adding a node, the routing tables need to be updated to route to the new node. When reconfiguring a static-routing network, the network administrator first terminates all processes communicating via the network (step 102). Next, the system administrator reconfigures the network by adding or removing a node and by performing the appropriate recabling (step 104). Then, the network administrator updates the routing tables in the network to account for the reconfiguration (e.g., avoid the removed node) (step 106) and, finally, restarts the processes that were terminated (step 108). By reconfiguring networks in this manner, the networks are rendered nonoperational for a significant amount of time, such as a few hours. It is thus desirable to improve how networks are reconfigured. Summary of the Invention In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, an improved deadlock-free routing system is provided to a family of network topologies where both the configuration of the networks and the routings are designed to optimize performance. Network topologies have also been selected based on the ease with which the network can be reconfigured, including adding nodes and removing nodes. As a result, the network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention do not follow a rigid, predefined pattern; rather, these topologies have been selected to improve network performance and facilitate reconfiguration. By using an improved technique for reconfiguring networks, a network administrator can reconfigure their network while it remains operational. As a result, users can continue to utilize the network during reconfiguration. In this system, each network utilizes static routing tables that perform deadlock-free routing in an optimized manner to reduce the amount of communication overhead when routing traffic. Specifically, the routings in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention require no more than two hops for networks up to a size of 16 nodes. As a result, the deadlock- free routing provided in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention incurs less communications overhead than some conventional systems while still avoiding deadlock. In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided in a network containing nodes. According to this method, a first of the nodes receives a packet from a second of the nodes, accesses a statically-defined routing table to determine a third of the nodes to send the packet to such that a deadlock is avoided, and sends the packet to the third node. In accordance with systems consistent with the present invention, a computer- readable memory device encoded with a routing table data structure for use in routing traffic in the network of nodes is provided. The routing table data structure comprises an entry indicating a next node for sending a received packet in such a manner as to avoid deadlock. In accordance with systems consistent with the present invention, a distributed system with nodes and links interconnecting the nodes is provided. Each node contains a static routing table for use in routing a packet received from a first of the nodes to a second of the nodes to avoid deadlock. In accordance with methods consistent with the present invention, a method is provided in a distributed system containing a network with nodes, where each of the nodes has ports. This method configures the network to maximize port usage, renders the network operational such that the nodes are capable of communicating via the network using static routing, and reconfigures the network while the network remains operational. Brief Description of the Drawings The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate an implementation of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the advantages and principles of the invention. In the drawings, Fig. 1A depicts the hypercube family of networks; Fig. IB depicts the hypercube network with eight nodes from Fig. 1 A where its nodes are numbered as part of its routing algorithm; Fig. IC depicts a flowchart of the steps performed by a conventional system during network reconfiguration; Fig.2 depicts a data processing system suitable for use with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 3 depicts a more detailed diagram of the chassis of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 depicts a more detailed diagram of a routing card depicted in Fig. 3; Fig. 5 depicts a network topology for a network of 7 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 6 depicts a network topology for a network of 8 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 7 depicts a network topology for a network of 9 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 8 depicts a network topology for a network of 10 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 9 depicts a network topology for a network of 11 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 10 depicts a network topology for a network of 12 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 11 depicts a network topology for a network of 13 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 12 depicts a network topology for a network of 14 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; Fig. 13 depicts a network topology for a network of 15 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention; and Fig. 14 depicts a network topology for a network of 16 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. Fig. 15 depicts a flowchart of the steps performed when reconfiguring one of the networks depicted in Figs. 5-14. Detailed Description In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, an improved technique for deadlock-free routing is provided. According to this technique, preconfigured routing tables are used to optimize routing in a network while avoiding a deadlock. These routing tables have been empirically selected to reduce communications overhead while still preventing deadlock. These routing tables are provided in a family of network topologies which have been selected to facilitate network performance. These network topologies are discussed below. In addition to being selected for network performance characteristics, these network topologies have been selected to facilitate reconfiguration, which is also discussed below. In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, improved network topologies are provided that seek to improve network performance and facilitate network reconfiguration. These network topologies have been selected based on various network performance characteristics like throughput, thus increasing the performance of the network. Additionally, these network topologies are selected to facilitate the addition (upgrade) or removal (downgrade) of one or more nodes. In most of the topologies, this reconfiguration requires a minimal amount of recabling. Moreover, the reconfiguration occurs in a manner such that the network remains operational during the reconfiguration. Thus, network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention typically perform better than conventional network configurations and are more easily upgradable and downgradable. The network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention are selected based upon a number of network performance characteristics including diameter, symmetry, bisection bandwidth, and path length. The "diameter" of a network refers to the longest path between any two pairs of nodes. For example, the diameter of the hypercube topology for a network of eight devices (shown in Fig. 1 A) is three, because each node can be reached from any other node by traversing three links at most. The network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention have a diameter of two, so that in all of the topologies described below, two links at most need to be traversed when communicating between any two nodes. Such a low diameter significantly reduces communications overhead by reducing the number of links traversed, thus providing increased throughput. The "symmetry" of a network refers to both node symmetry and edge symmetry. A network is node symmetric when for each pair of nodes there is an automoφhism of the network that maps the first node to the second node. An "automoφhism" refers to a permutation of the nodes that preserves the link or edge relationships. A network is edge symmetric when for each pair of edges there is an automoφhism of the network that maps the first edge to the second edge. A network that is both node and edge symmetric is typically well load-balanced. Wherever feasible, the network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention are both node and edge symmetric. "Bisection bandwidth" refers to the minimum bandwidth for all possible partitions into two equal-sized groups of nodes. The bisection bandwidth for a network provides an indication of whether the network contains bottlenecks. For example, consider the following network: This network can be formed into two groups of equal size by dividing it vertically as shown below: Given this division, the bandwidth is two, indicating the number of links that cross the group boundary. This network can also be formed into two groups of equal size by dividing it horizontally as shown below: Dividing the network in this way renders a bandwidth of four because four links cross the group boundary. Given these calculations, to determine the bisection bandwidth for this network, the minimum bandwidth for all groupings of equal size is determined. In this example, the bisection bandwidth is two. The network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention have been selected to maximize their bisection bandwidth. The "path length" refers to the average number of links that must be traversed between any two nodes. As such, the path length for a network indicates the amount of communication overhead associated with a communication. The network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention have low path lengths ranging from 1.19 to 1.67, indicating that a low level of communications overhead is incurred. Implementation Details Fig. 2 depicts a data processing system 200 suitable for use with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. Data processing system 200 contains a chassis 202 connected to a video display 204 and a keyboard 206. Data processing system 200 is suitable for use as one or more nodes in the network topologies described below. As shown in Fig. 3, chassis 202 contains up to seven cards 302-314 interconnected via bus 315. Of these cards, cards 308 and 314, known as routing cards, perform routing functionality with each having five ports 316-324 and 326-334 that connect to a communication link (e.g., a cable). The cards other than the routing cards (i.e., cards 302-306, 310, and 312) typically contain multiple CPUs, memory, and secondary storage. In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, cards 302-308 form a single node 336. Likewise, cards 310-314 form a single node 338. Nodes 336 and 338 are referred to as partner nodes because they are both located in the same chassis 202. Since node 336 and node 338 are separate communications nodes, they may be interconnected via a communications link 340, known as a partner link. A partner link is used to transfer control information between two partner nodes: the actual data is transferred via the bus 315 for faster communications. One skilled in the art will appreciate that data processing system 200 and chassis 202 may include additional or different components, including additional nodes. Fig. 4 depicts a more detailed diagram of routing card 308, although routing card 314 is similarly configured. Routing card 308 contains a memory 402, a switch 404, and a processor 406 interconnected by an internal bus 407, which also connects to bus 315. Memory 402 contains routing software 408 that routes traffic through the network using routing table 410. Routing table 410 may contain part or all of the information contained in the routing tables provided below. The switch coordinates the sending and receiving of information across the network via ports 316-324 by using a send and receive buffer 412-430 for each port. Although aspects of the present invention are described as being stored in memory, one skilled in the art will appreciate that these aspects can also be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or CD-ROM; a carrier wave from a network, such as the Internet; or other forms of RAM or ROM either currently known or later developed. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo, Java™, and Java™-based trademarks are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Network Topologies In accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, a number of network topologies are provided where the topologies have been selected based on both performance characteristics and the ease with which the network can be reconfigured. Network topologies for networks having seven to sixteen nodes are presented below with exemplary deadlock- free routings. The topologies for networks having less than seven nodes are not presented because they are fully connected. That is, since each routing card has five ports, in networks of six or less nodes, each node can be connected to each other node. In such a situation, the network is referred to as being fully connected. Fig. 5 depicts a network topology for a network of seven nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. Each node, node 0 through node 6, has up to five links to other nodes. Each link is depicted as either a solid line or a dashed line. A solid line indicates that the link is a nonpartner link; a dashed line indicates that the link is a partner link between partner nodes. Accordingly, the two partner nodes are contained in the same device. In Fig. 5, the letters (e.g., "A") indicate a continuing connection to another like-lettered node. For example, node 0 is connected to node 6. As shown in Fig. 5, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 3, 4, 5, and 6. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 2, 3, 4, and 5. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 1 , 4, 5, and 6. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 0, 1 , 5, and 6. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 1, 2, and 6. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 0, 1, 2, and 3, and node 6 directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 3, and 4. Below is a deadlock-free routing table for this network. The first row of this table, for example, shows that data from node 0 may be sent directly to nodes 1 , 3, 4, 5, and 6 and that data from node 0 may be sent to node 2 via node 3. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 - 3 - - - - 1 - - - - 4 2 1 3 - - 5 - - 4 - - - 2 - - 5 - - - - - 3 6 - 0 - - - 4 Fig. 6 depicts a network topology for a network of 8 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 6, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 3 through 6. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 2, 4, 5, and 7. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 1, 4, 6, and 7. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to node 0 and nodes 5 through 7. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0-2 and 6. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 0, 1, 3, and 7. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0 and 2-4, and node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1-3 and 5. Below is a deadlock- free routing table for this network. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 - 3 - - - - 6 1 - - 2 - - 7 - 2 1 - - - 4 - - 3 - 0 - 5 - - - 4 - - - 2 - - 6 5 - - 3 - - 7 - 6 - 0 - - - 4 - 7 1 - - - 5 - - Fig. 7 depicts a network topology for a network of 9 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 7, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 3, 4, 6, and 8. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 2, 4, 5, and 7. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 1, 4, 6, and 7. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 0, 5, 7, and 8. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0-2 and 6. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 7, and 8. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 4, and 8. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1-3 and 5, and node 8 directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 5, and 6. Below is a deadlock-free routing table for this network. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 1 - - 2 - - 7 - 5 2 1 - - - 4 - - 6 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 4 - - - 2 - - 6 0 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - - 7 1 - - - 5 - - 3 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 Fig. 8 depicts a network topology for a network of 10 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 8, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 3, 4, 6, and 8. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 2, 5, 7, and 9. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 1, 4, 6, and 9. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 0, 5, 7, and 8. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 6, and 9. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 7, and 8. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 4, and 8. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 5, and 9. Node 8 has a partner link with node 9 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 5, and 6, and node 9 has a partner link with node 8 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 4, and 7. Below is a deadlock-free routing table for this network. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 8 1 - - 2 5 - 7 - 9 - 2 1 - - - 4 - 6 9 - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 8 4 - 0 - 2 - - 6 9 - 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - - 8 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - - 8 7 1 - 3 - 5 - - 9 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - Fig. 9 depicts a network topology for a network of 11 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 9, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 3, 4, 6, and 8. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 9, and 10. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 9, and 10. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 0, 5, 7, and 8. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 7, and 9. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 8, and 10. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 8, and 10. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 4, and 9. Node 8 has a partner link with node 9 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 5, and 6. Node 9 has a partner link with node 8 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 4, and 7, and node 10 directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 5, and 6. A deadlock- free routing table for this network is provided below. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 8 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 8 5 4 - 0 - 2 - 7 - 9 - 2 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 - 7 1 - 3 - - 4 - 9 - 1 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 6 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 1 10 1 - - 2 5 - - 6 6 2 Fig. 10 depicts a network topology for a network of 12 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 10, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 8, and 11. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 9, and 10. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 9, and 10. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 8, and 11. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 9, and 11. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 8, and 10. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 8, and 10. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 9, and 1 1. Node 8 has a partner link with node 9 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 5, and 6. Node 9 has a partner link with node 8 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 4, and 7. Node 10 has a partner link with node 11 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 5, and 6, and node 11 has a partner link with node 10 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 4, and 7. A deadlock-free routing table is provided below. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 11 - 5 1 - 3 - - 10 1 - 8 - 10 6 - 0 - 2 2 10 - - 8 - 10 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 11 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 5 0 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 1 7 10 1 - - 2 5 - - 6 5 2 - 11 - 0 3 - - 4 7 - 3 7 - Fig. 11 depicts a network topology for a network of 13 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 11 , node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 8, and 11. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 9, and 10. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 9, and 10. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 8, and 11. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 9, and 12. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 6, and 8. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 5, and 10. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 11, and 12. Node 8 has a partner link with node 9 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 5, and 12. Node 9 has a partner link with node 8 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 4, and 11. Node 10 has a partner link with node 11 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 6, and 12. Node 11 has a partner link with node 10 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 7, and 9, and node 12 directly connects to nodes 4, 7, 8, and 10. A deadlock- free routing table for this network is provided below. FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 \TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 4 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 5 1 - 3 - - - 6 - 8 1 3 8 6 - 0 - 2 5 - - 0 2 - 10 10 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 11 11 - - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 12 - 12 0 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 2 1 - 11 - 4 10 1 - - 2 2 6 - 6 12 2 - - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 9 - - 7 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 Fig. 12 depicts a network topology for a network of 14 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 12, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 8, and 11. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 9, and 10. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 9, and 10. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 8, and 11. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 9, and 12. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 8, and 13. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 10, and 13. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 11, and 12. Node 8 has a partner link with node 9 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 5, and 12. Node 9 has a partner link with node 8 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 4, and 13. Node 10 has a partner link with node 11 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 6, and 12. Node 11 has a partner link with node 10 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 7, and 13. Node 12 has a partner link with node 13 and directly connects to nodes 4, 7, 8, and 10, and node 13 has a partner link with node 12 and directly connects to nodes 5, 6, 9, and 11. A deadlock- free routing table for this network is provided below. FROM\ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 8 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 5 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 6 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 11 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 12 5 1 - 3 - - 13 1 - 8 1 13 13 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 13 - 0 2 - 10 13 - 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 11 - - 12 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 12 - 12 0 - 12 9 1 - - 2 - 4 13 1 - 1 13 13 - 10 1 - - 2 2 1 - 6 12 2 - - 12 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 13 - 13 - 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 - 13 11 9 9 5 5 - - 6 9 - 11 - - Fig. 13 depicts a network topology for a network of 15 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in Fig. 13, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 8, and 11. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 9, and 10. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 9, and 10. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 8, and 1 1. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 9, and 12. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 13, and 14. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 13, and 14. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 11, and 12. Node 8 has a partner link with node 9 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 12, and 14. Node 9 has a partner link with node 8 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 4, and 13. Node 10 has a partner link with node 11 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 12, and 14. Node 11 has a partner link with node 10 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 7, and 13. Node 12 has a partner link with node 13 and directly connects to nodes 4, 7, 8, and 10. Node 13 has a partner link with node 12 and directly connects to nodes 5, 6, 9, and 11, and node 14 directly connects to nodes 5, 6, 8, and 10. A deadlock-free routing table for this network is provided below. FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 \TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 4 6 8 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 5 5 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 6 6 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 11 5 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 12 5 5 1 - 3 - - 13 1 3 1 1 13 13 - - 6 - 0 - 2 2 14 - 14 2 2 0 13 - - 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 11 - - 12 6 8 - 0 3 - 12 14 0 12 - 12 0 - 12 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 13 1 - 1 13 13 - 8 10 1 - - 2 2 14 2 12 14 2 - - 12 - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 13 - 13 - 10 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 - 8 13 11 9 9 5 5 - - 6 9 - 11 - - 5 14 6 10 10 8 5 - - 6 - 8 - 10 10 6 Fig. 14 depicts a network topology for a network of 16 nodes in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. As shown in this figure, node 0 has a partner link with node 1 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 8, and 11. Node 1 has a partner link with node 0 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 9, and 10. Node 2 has a partner link with node 3 and directly connects to nodes 4, 6, 9, and 10. Node 3 has a partner link with node 2 and directly connects to nodes 5, 7, 8, and 11. Node 4 has a partner link with node 5 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 12, and 15. Node 5 has a partner link with node 4 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 13, and 14. Node 6 has a partner link with node 7 and directly connects to nodes 0, 2, 13, and 14. Node 7 has a partner link with node 6 and directly connects to nodes 1, 3, 12, and 15. Node 8 has a partner link with node 9 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 12, and 14. Node 9 has a partner link with node 8 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 13, and 15. Node 10 has a partner link with node 11 and directly connects to nodes 1, 2, 12, and 14. Node 11 has a partner link with node 10 and directly connects to nodes 0, 3, 13, and 15. Node 12 has a partner link with node 13 and directly connects to nodes 4, 7, 8, and 10. Node 13 has a partner link with node 12 and directly connects to nodes 5, 6, 9, and 11. Node 14 has a partner link with node 15 and directly connects to nodes 5, 6, 8, and 10, and node 15 has a partner link with node 14 and directly connects to nodes 4, 7, 9, and 11. A deadlock-free routing table for this network topology is provided below. Upgrade Downgrade of Network Topologies The above-described network topologies have been selected to simplify the reconfiguration of the network. As described below, for many of the network topologies, reconfiguring the network to either add or remove a node requires the minimal amount of recabling necessary. For example, to add a node to the seven-node network topology, two links are removed and five links (including one partner link) are added to connect the eighth node. This is the minimal amount of recabling that can be done when adding a node in an environment where each node has 5 ports while also attempting to maximize port usage. Additionally, when reconfiguring a network in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention, the reconfiguration occurs without bringing down the network. Instead, the network remains operational during the reconfiguration, with only a minimal interruption. Fig. 15 depicts a flowchart of the steps performed when reconfiguring one of the network topologies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with the present invention. When performing an upgrade or downgrade, the administrator, from an administrator's console (e.g., one of the nodes), sends to the routing software on all of the nodes a signal, including an interim routing table for use in routing traffic around the part of the network affected by the upgrade or downgrade (step 1502). The interim routing tables for each network topology are provided below. While the routing tables are updated, network traffic is stalled for a small amount of time, on the order of milliseconds. During this time, the nodes buffer network traffic, so no data loss occurs. After updating the routing tables, the network administrator removes the cables from the affected area of the network (step 1504). The particular cables removed for each network topology are described below. Next, the network administrator adds or removes the appropriate node (step 1506), adds the appropriate cables (step 1508), and then sends new routing tables to each of the nodes of the network that either utilize the new node or avoid the removed node (step 1510). While updating the routing tables, network traffic stalls momentarily while the new routing tables replace the interim routing tables, and then network traffic resumes using these tables. By reconfiguring the network in this manner, the network is twice interrupted for very short periods of time and remains effectively operational, thus providing a virtually hot upgrade or downgrade. Described below are the upgrade sequences for adding a node to a network of between 6-15 nodes. One skilled in the art will appreciate that downgrading occurs by reversing the upgrade sequences. Upgrading from 6 Nodes to 7 Nodes When upgrading from 6 nodes to 7 nodes, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 2-0 and 4-3, and then adds links 6-0, 6-2, 6-3, and 6-4. After adding these links, the network administrator utilizes the routing table (described above) for a network of 7 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 - 3 - - - 1 2 1 - - - - 3 - - - 5 - 4 - - - 2 - 5 Upgrading from 7 Nodes to 8 Nodes When upgrading from 7 nodes to 8 nodes, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 3-1 and 5-2, and then adds links 7- 1 , 7-2, 7-3, 7-5, and 7-6. After adding these links, the network administrator utilizes the routing table (described above) for a network of 8 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 - 3 - - - - 1 - - 2 - - 4 2 1 - - - 4 - 3 - 0 - 5 - - 4 - - - 2 - - 5 - - 3 - - 3 6 - 0 - - - 4 Upgrading from 8 Nodes to 9 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 5-0 and 6-3, adds links 8-0, 8-3, 8-5, and 8-6, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 9 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 1 - - 2 - - 7 - 2 1 - - - 4 - - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - 4 - - - 2 - - 6 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - 7 1 - - - 5 - - Upgrading from 9 Nodes to 10 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 4-1 and 7-2, adds links 9-1, 9-2, 9-4, 9-7, and 9-8, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 10 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 1 - - 2 5 - 7 - 5 2 1 - - - 4 - 6 6 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 4 - 0 - 2 - - 6 0 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - - 7 1 - 3 - 5 - - 3 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 Upgrading from 10 Nodes to 11 Nodes To upgrade from 10 nodes to 11 nodes, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 2-1, 6-4, and 7-5, adds links 10-1, 10-2, 7-4, 10-5, and 10-6, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 11 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 8 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - 2 6 9 - - 4 - 6 9 - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 8 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - Upgrading from 11 Nodes to 12 Nodes To upgrade from 11 nodes to 12 nodes, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 3-0 and 7-4, adds links 11-0, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7, and 11-10, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 12 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 5 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 2 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 - 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 1 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 6 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 1 10 1 - - 2 5 - - 6 6 2 Upgrading from 12 Nodes to 13 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 1 1-4, 10-5, 8-6, and 9-7, adds links 12-4, 9-5, 1 1-6, 12-7, 12-8, and 12-10, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 13 nodes. The entry at the intersection of row 4 and column 7, for example, indicates that data from node 4 is sent to node 7 by way of nodes 0 and 6. That is, a path of length 3 is used. Paths of length 3 are needed only during the upgrade/downgrade procedure. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 2 4 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 0,6 9 - 2 0 5 1 - 3 - - 1,7 1 - 8 1 3 6 - 0 - 2 2 2,4 - 0 2 - 10 7 1 - 3 - 3,5 3 - 3 1 11 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 3 - 0,11 0 9 1 - - 2 - 4 2 1 - 1 1,10 10 1 - - 2 2 1 - 6 2,9 2 - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 3,8 - Upgrading from 13 Nodes to 14 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 9-5 and 11 -6, adds links 13-5, 13-6, 13-9, 13-11, and 13-12, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 14 nodes. FROM \ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 4 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 5 1 - 3 - - 1,7 1 - 8 1 3 8 6 - 0 - 2 2 2,4 - 0 2 - 10 10 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 11 - - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 12 - 12 0 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 2 1 - 1 1,1 4 0 10 1 - - 2 2 1 - 6 12 2 - - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 3,8 - 7 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 Upgrading from 14 Nodes to 15 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 8-5 and 10-6, adds links 14-5, 14-6, 14-8, and 14-10, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 15 nodes. FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 \TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 4 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 9 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 6 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 11 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 12 5 1 - 3 - - 13 1 3 1 1 13 13 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 13 - 0 2 2 0 13 - 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 11 - - 12 8 - 0 3 - 12 3 0 12 - 12 0 - 12 9 1 - - 2 - 4 13 1 - 1 13 13 - 10 1 - - 2 2 1 2 12 12 2 - - 12 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 1 - 13 - 3 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 - 13 11 9 9 5 5 - - 6 9 - 11 - - Upgrading from 15 Nodes to 16 Nodes When upgrading from 15 nodes to 16 nodes, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 9-4 and 11-7, adds links 15-4, 15-7, 15-9, 15-11, and 15-14, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 16 nodes. FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 \TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 4 6 8 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 5 5 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 6 6 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 11 5 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 0 2 12 0 - 12 5 5 1 - 3 - - 13 1 3 1 1 13 13 - - 6 - 0 - 2 2 14 - 14 2 2 0 13 - - 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 1 3 - 12 6 8 - 0 3 - 12 14 0 12 - 12 0 - 12 - 9 1 - - 2 2 13 13 1 - 1 13 13 - 8 10 1 - - 2 2 14 2 12 14 2 - - 12 - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 13 3 3 13 - 13 - 10 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 - 8 13 11 9 9 5 5 - - 6 9 - 11 - - 5 14 6 10 10 8 5 - - 6 - 8 - 10 10 6 Upgrading 2 Nodes at a Time Because the data processing system suitable for use with methods and systems consistent with the present invention may contain two nodes, the network topologies described above can be easily upgraded two nodes at a time when the network initially has an even number of nodes. These two additional nodes become partner nodes within the same data processing system. As described in detail below, when adding two nodes, the network administrator removes four links from the network topology and adds nine new links, including an additional link (a partner link) between the two nodes. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the below-described upgrade sequences can be reversed to remove two partner nodes at a time. Upgrading from 6 Nodes to 8 Nodes To upgrade from six nodes to eight nodes, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 2-0, 4-3, 3-1, and 5-2, adds links 6-0, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, 7-1, 7-2, 7-3, 7-5, and 7-6, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 8 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 - 3 - - - 1 - - 2 - - 2 1 - - - 4 3 - 0 - 5 - 4 - - - 2 - 5 - - 3 - - Upgrading from 8 Nodes to 10 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 5-0, 6-3, 4-1 , and 7-2, adds links 8-0, 8-3, 8-5, 8-6, 9-1, 9-2, 9-4, 9-7, and 9-8, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 10 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 1 - - 2 5 - 7 - 2 1 - - - 4 - 6 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - 4 - 0 - 2 - - 6 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - 7 1 - 3 - 5 - - Upgrading from 10 Nodes to 12 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 2-1, 6-4, 7-5, and 3-0, adds links 10-1, 10-2, 10-5, 10-6, 11-0, 11-3, 11-4, 11-7, and 11-10, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 12 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - 2 6 9 - - 4 - 6 9 - 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - Upgrading from 12 Nodes to 14 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 1 1-4, 10-5, 8-6, and 9-7, adds links 12-4, 12-7, 12-8, 12-10, 13-5, 13-6, 13-9, 13-11, and 13-12, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 14 nodes. FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 2 4 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 0,6 9 - 2 0 5 1 - 3 - - 1,7 1 - 8 1 3 6 - 0 - 2 2 2,4 - 0 2 - 10 7 1 - 3 - 3,5 3 - 3 1 11 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 3 - 0,11 0 9 1 - - 2 - 4 2 1 - 1 1,10 10 1 - - 2 2 1 - 6 2,9 2 - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 3,8 - Upgrading from 14 Nodes to 16 Nodes To perform this upgrade, the network administrator utilizes the interim routing table provided below, removes links 8-5, 10-6, 9-4, and 11-7, adds links 14-5, 14-6, 14-8, 14-10, 15-4, 15-7, 15-9, 15-11, and 15-14, and then utilizes the routing table described above for a network of 16 nodes. FROM\ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 8 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 5 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 6 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 11 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 0 2 12 0 - 12 5 1 - 3 - - 13 1 3 1 1 13 13 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 13 - 0 2 2 0 13 - 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 1 3 - 12 8 - 0 3 - 12 3 0 12 - 12 0 - 12 9 1 - - 2 2 13 13 1 - 1 13 13 - 10 1 - - 2 2 1 2 12 12 2 - - 12 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 13 3 3 13 - 13 - 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 - 13 11 9 9 5 5 - - 6 9 - 11 - - Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, those skilled in the art will know of various changes in form and detail which may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims and their full scope of equivalents.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least seven nodes, including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, and a node 6; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: 2. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least eight nodes, including a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, and a node 7; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 - 3 - - - - 6 1 - - 2 - - 7 - 2 1 - - - 4 - - 3 - 0 - 5 - - - 4 - - - 2 - - 6 5 - - 3 - - 7 - 6 - 0 - - - 4 - 7 1 - - - 5 - - 3. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least nine nodes, including a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, and a node 8; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 1 - - 2 - - 7 - 5 2 1 - - - 4 - - 6 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 4 - - - 2 - - 6 0 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - - 7 1 - - - 5 - - 3 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 4. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least ten nodes, including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, and a node 9; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 8 1 - - 2 5 - 7 - 9 - 2 1 - - - 4 - 6 9 - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 8 4 - 0 - 2 - - 6 9 - 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - - 8 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - - 8 7 1 - 3 - 5 - - 9 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 5. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least eleven nodes, including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, and a node 10; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 8 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 8 5 4 - 0 - 2 - 7 - 9 - 2 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 - 7 1 - 3 - - 4 - 9 - 1 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 6 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 1 10 1 - - 2 5 - - 6 6 2 6. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least twelve nodes, including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, and a node 11; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 \ TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 11 - 5 1 - 3 - - 10 1 - 8 - 10 6 - 0 - 2 2 10 - - 8 - 10 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 11 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 5 0 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 1 7 10 1 - - 2 5 - - 6 5 2 - 11 - 0 3 - - 4 7 - 3 7 - • 7. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least thirteen nodes, including a node 0, a node , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 0, a node 11, and a node 12; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 \TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 4 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 5 1 - 3 - - - 6 - 8 1 3 8 6 - 0 - 2 5 - - 0 2 - 10 10 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 11 11 - - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 12 - 12 0 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 2 1 - 11 - 4 10 1 - - 2 2 6 - 6 12 2 - - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 9 - - 7 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 • 8. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least fourteen nodes, including a node 0, a node , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 0, a node 11, a node 12, and a node 13; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 \TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 8 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 5 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 6 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 11 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 12 5 1 - 3 - - 13 1 - 8 1 13 13 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 13 - 0 2 - 10 13 - 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 11 - - 12 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 12 - 12 0 - 12 9 1 - - 2 - 4 13 1 - 1 13 13 - 10 1 - - 2 2 1 - 6 12 2 - - 12 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 13 - 13 - 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 - 13 11 9 9 5 5 - - 6 9 - 11 - - 9. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least fifteen nodes, including a node 0, a node , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 0, a node 11, a node 12, a node 13, and a node 14; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: FROM 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 \TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 4 6 8 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 7 5 5 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 10 6 6 3 11 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 7 11 5 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 12 9 - 12 0 - 12 5 5 1 - 3 - - 13 1 3 1 1 13 13 - - 6 - 0 - 2 2 14 - 14 2 2 0 13 - - 7 1 - 3 - 12 3 - 3 1 11 - - 12 6 8 - 0 3 - 12 14 0 12 - 12 0 - 12 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 13 1 - 1 13 13 - 8 10 1 - - 2 2 14 2 12 14 2 - - 12 - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 13 - 13 - 10 12 8 10 4 8 - 4 7 - - 8 - 10 - 8 13 11 9 9 5 5 - - 6 9 - 11 - - 5 14 6 10 10 8 5 - - 6 - 8 - 10 10 6 10. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network containing at least sixteen nodes, including a node 0, a node , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 0, a node 11, a node 12, a node 13, a node 14, a node 15; and utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic through the network: 11. A method in a network containing nodes, the method performed by a first of the nodes, comprising the steps of: receiving a packet from a second of the nodes into the first node; accessing a statically defined routing table to determine a third of the nodes to send the packet to such that deadlock is avoided; and sending the packet to the third node. 12. A computer-readable memory device encoded with a routing table data structure for use in routing traffic in a network of nodes, the routing table data structure comprising: an entry indicating a next node for sending a received packet in such a manner as to avoid deadlock. 13. A distributed system with nodes and links interconnecting the nodes, each node containing a static routing table for use in routing a packet received from a first of the nodes to a second of the nodes to avoid deadlock. 14. The distributed system of claim 13 wherein the network is not fully connected. 15. The distributed system of claim 13 wherein each node has five ports. 16. The distributed system of claim 15 wherein the network is configured to maximize port usage. 17. The distributed system of claim 13 wherein at least two of the nodes communicate via a bus. 18. A distributed system comprising at least seven nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, and a node 6, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 5, and node 6; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 3, node 4, and node 5; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 5, and node 6; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 3, and node 4; and node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 3, and node 4. 19. The distributed system of claim 18 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 20. The distributed system of claim 18 wherein node 0 and node 1 communicate via a bus. 21. The distributed system of claim 18 wherein node 2 and node 3 communicate via a bus. 22. The distributed system of claim 18 wherein node 4 and node 5 communicate via a bus. 23. A distributed system comprising at least eight nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, and a node 7, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 5, and node 6; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 5, and node 7; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 7; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 6, and node 7; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1 , node 3, node 4, and node 7; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 3, node 4, and node 7; and node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 3, node 5, and node 6. 24. The distributed system of claim 23 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 25. The distributed system of claim 23wherein node 0 and node 1 communicate via a bus. 26. The distributed system of claim 23 wherein node 2 and node 3 communicate via a bus. 27. The distributed system of claim 23 wherein node 4 and node 5 communicate via a bus. 28. The distributed system of claim 23 wherein node 6 and node 7 communicate via a bus. 29. A distributed system comprising at least nine nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, and a node 8, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 5, and node 7; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 7; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 8; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1 , node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 3, node 5, and node 6; and node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, and node 6. 30. The distributed system of claim 29 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 31. The distributed system of claim 29 wherein node 0 and node 1 are partner nodes. 32. The distributed system of claim 29 wherein node 2 and node 3 are partner nodes. 33. The distributed system of claim 29 wherein node 4 and node 5 are partner nodes. 34. The distributed system of claim 29 wherein node 6 and node 7 are partner nodes. 35. A distributed system comprising at least ten nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, and a node 9, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 9; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 9; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 8; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 6, and node 9; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9; and node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8. 36. The distributed system of claim 35 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 37. The distributed system of claim 35 wherein node 0 and node 1 are partner nodes. 38. The distributed system of claim 35 wherein node 2 and node 3 are partner nodes. 39. The distributed system of claim 35 wherein node 4 and node 5 are partner nodes. 40. The distributed system of claim 35 wherein node 6 and node 7 are partner nodes. 41. The distributed system of claim 35 wherein node 8 and node 9 are partner nodes. 42. A distributed system comprising at least eleven nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, and a node 10, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 1 is communicatively linkedto node O, node 5, node 7, node 9, andnode 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 8; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 9; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 4, node 8, and node 10; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 8, and node 10; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 9; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; and node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6. 43. The distributed system of claim 42 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 44. The distributed system of claim 42 wherein node 0 and node 1 communicate via a bus. 45. The distributed system of claim 42 wherein node 2 and node 3 communicate via a bus. 46. The distributed system of claim 42 wherein node 4 and node 5 communicate via a bus. 47. The distributed system of claim 42 wherein node 6 and node 7 communicate via a bus. 48. The distributed system of claim 42 wherein node 8 and node 9 communicate via a bus. 49. A distributed system comprising at least twelve nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, and a node 11, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10 node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10 node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 11 node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 4, node 8, and node 10 node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 8, and node 10 node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 6, node 9, and node 11 node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9 node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8 node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 5, node 6, and node 11 ; and node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 4, node 7, and node 10. 50. The distributed system of claim 49 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 51. The distributed system of claim 49 wherein node 0 and node 1 communicate via a bus. 52. The distributed system of claim 49 wherein node 2 and node 3 communicate via a bus. 53. The distributed system of claim 49 wherein node 4 and node 5 communicate via a bus. 54. The distributed system of claim 49 wherein node 6 and node 7 communicate via a bus. 55. The distributed system of claim 49 wherein node 8 and node 9 communicate via a bus. 56. The distributed system of claim 49 wherein node 10 and node 11 communicate via a bus. 57. A distributed system comprising at least thirteen nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, and a node 12, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 ; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 1 1 ; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 10; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 6, node 11, and node 12; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 4, node 8, and node 11 ; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 6, node 11, and node 12; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 7, node 9, and node 10; and node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, and node 10. 58. The distributed system of claim 57 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 59. The distributed system of claim 57 wherein node 0 and node 1 communicate via a bus. 60. The distributed system of claim 57 wherein node 2 and node 3 communicate via a bus. 61. The distributed system of claim 57 wherein node 4 and node 5 communicate via a bus. 62. The distributed system of claim 57 wherein node 6 and node 7 communicate via a bus. 63. The distributed system of claim 57 wherein node 8 and node 9 communicate via a bus. 64. The distributed system of claim 57 wherein node 10 and node 11 communicate via a bus. 65. A distributed system comprising at least fourteen nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 1 1, a node 12, and a node 13, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10 node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10 node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 12 node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 4, node 8, and node 13 node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 10, and node 13; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 6, node 11, and node 12; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 4, node 8, and node 13 ; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 6, node 11, and node 12; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 7, node 10, and node 13; node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, node 10, and node 13; and node 13 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 9, node 11, and node 12. 66. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 67. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein node 0 and node 1 are partner nodes. 68. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein node 2 and node 3 are partner nodes. 69. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein node 4 and node 5 are partner nodes. 70. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein node 6 and node 7 are partner nodes. 71. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein node 8 and node 9 are partner nodes. 72. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein node 10 and node 11 are partner nodes. 73. The distributed system of claim 65 wherein node 12 and node 13 are partner nodes. 74. A distributed system comprising at least fifteen nodes in a network that is not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, a node 12, a node 13, and a node 14, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10 node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10 node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 12 node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 13, and node 14; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 13, and node 14; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 6, node 11, and node 12; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 9, node 12, and node 14; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 4, node 8, and node 13 ; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 1 1 , node 12, and node 14; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 7, node 10, and node 13; node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, node 10, and node 13; node 13 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 9, node 11, and node 12; and node 14 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 8, and node 10. 75. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein each of the nodes has five ports. 76. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein node 0 and node 1 are partner nodes. 77. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein node 2 and node 3 are partner nodes. 78. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein node 4 and node 5 are partner nodes. 79. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein node 6 and node 7 are partner nodes. 80. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein node 8 and node 9 are partner nodes. 81. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein node 10 and node 11 are partner nodes. 82. The distributed system of claim 74 wherein node 12 and node 13 are partner nodes. 83. A method for distributed system configuration, comprising the steps of: creating a set of network topologies, each associated with one group of nodes, each group having a different number of nodes, each network topology configured based on performance characteristics, wherein each of the set of network topologies does not fully connect the associated group of nodes; selecting one of the set of network topologies for a network with network nodes based on a number of the network nodes in the network; and configuring the network using the selected network topology. 84. The method of claim 83 wherein each of the set of network topologies is configured based on a diameter of the network topology. 85. The method of claim 83 wherein each of the set of network topologies is configured based on a bisection bandwidth of the network topology. 86. The method of claim 83 wherein each of the set of network topologies is configured based on whether the network topology is symmetric. 87. The method of claim 86 wherein each of the set of network topologies is configured based on whether the network topology is node symmetric. 88. The method of claim 86 wherein each of the set of network topologies is configured based on whether the network topology is edge symmetric. 89. The method of claim 83 wherein each of the set of network topologies is configured based on an average path length of the network topology. 90. The method of claim 83 wherein the number of nodes in each group form a sequence. 91. The method of claim 90 wherein the sequence begins at seven nodes and ends at sixteen nodes. 92. A method for distributed system configuration, comprising the steps of: creating a set of network topologies, each associated with one group of nodes, each group having a different number of nodes, each network topology configured to facilitate reconfiguration of the associated group, wherein each of the set of network topologies does not fully connect the associated group of nodes; selecting one of the set of network topologies for a network with network nodes based on a number of the network nodes in the network; and configuring the network using the selected topology. 93. The method of claim 92 wherein each network topology is configured to facilitate upgrading the network. 94. The method of claim 92 wherein each network topology is configured to facilitate downgrading the network. 95. The method of claim 92 wherein the number of nodes in each group form a sequence. 96. The method of claim 92 wherein the sequence starts at seven nodes and ends at sixteen nodes. 97. A network comprising: a plurality of partner nodes contained in a same chassis; and a non-partner node connected to at least one of the plurality of partner nodes for sending network traffic to the at least one partner node. 98. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network having at least seven nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, and a node 6, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 5, and node 6; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 3, node 4, and node 5; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 5, and node 6; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 3, and node 4; and node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 3, and node 4; and reconfiguring the network. 99. The method of claim 98 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 7 to the network. 100. The method of claim 99 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 3 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 5 and node 2; communicatively linking node 7 and node 1 ; communicatively linking node 7 and node 2; communicatively linking node 7 and node 3; communicatively linking node 7 and node 5; and communicatively linking node 7 and node 6. 101. The method of claim 98 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 6 from the network. 102. The method of claim 101 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 6 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 4; communicatively linking node 2 and node 0; and communicatively linking node 4 and node 3. 103. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least eight nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, and a node 7, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 5, and node 6; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 5, and node 7; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 7; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 6, and node 7; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 3, node 4, and node 7; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 3, node 4, and node 7; and node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 3, node 5, and node 6; and reconfiguring the network. 104. The method of claim 103 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 8 to the network. 105. The method of claim 104 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 5 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 3; communicatively linking node 8 and node 0; communicatively linking node 8 and node 3; communicatively linking node 8 and node 5; and communicatively linking node 8 and node 6. 106. The method of claim 103 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 7 from the network. 107. The method of claim 106 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 7 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 6; communicatively linking node 3 and node 1 ; and communicatively linking node 5 and node 2. 108. The method of claim 103 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes: adding a node 8 and a node 9 to the network. 109. The method of claim 108 wherein the adding step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 5 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 4 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 2; communicatively linking node 8 and node 0; communicatively linking node 8 and node 3; communicatively linking node 8 and node 5; communicatively linking node 8 and node 6; communicatively linking node 9 and node 1 ; communicatively linking node 9 and node 2; communicatively linking node 9 and node 4; communicatively linking node 9 and node 7; and communicatively linking node 9 and node 8. 110. The method of claim 103 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes: removing node 6 and node 7 from the network. 111. The method of claim 110 wherein the removing step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 6 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 6; communicatively linking node 2 and node 0; communicatively linking node 4 and node 3; communicatively linking node 3 and node 1 ; and communicatively linking node 5 and node 2. 112. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least nine nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, and a node 8, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 5, and node 7; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 7; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 8; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 3, node 5, and node 6; and node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, and node 6; and reconfiguring the network. 113. The method of claim 112 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 9 to the network. 114. The method of claim 113 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 4 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 2; communicatively linking node 9 and node 1 ; communicatively linking node 9 and node 2; communicatively linking node 9 and node 4; communicatively linking node 9 and node 7; and communicatively linking node 9 and node 8. 115. The method of claim 112 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 8 from the network. 116. The method of claim 115 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 8 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 6; communicatively linking node 5 and node 0; and communicatively linking node 6 and node 3. 117. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least ten nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, and a node 9, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 9; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 9; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 8; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 6, and node 9; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9; and node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; and reconfiguring the network. 118. The method of claim 117 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 10 to the network. 119. The method of claim 118 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 2 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 5; communicatively linking node 10 and node 1; communicatively linking node 10 and node 2; communicatively linking node 7 and node 4; communicatively linking node 10 and node 5; and communicatively linking node 10 and node 6. 120. The method of claim 117 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 9 from the network. 121. The method of claim 120 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 9 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 7; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 8; communicatively linking node 4 and node 1 ; and communicatively linking node 7 and node 2. 122. The method of claim 117 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes: adding a node 10 and a node 11 to the network. 123. The method of claim 122 wherein the adding step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 2 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 6 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 3 and node 0; communicatively linking node 10 and node 1; communicatively linking node 10 and node 2; communicatively linking node 10 and node 5; communicatively linking node 10 and node 6; communicatively linking node 11 and node 0; communicatively linking node 11 and node 3; communicatively linking node 11 and node 4; communicatively linking node 11 and node 7; and communicatively linking node 11 and node 10. 124. The method of claim 117 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes: removing node 8 and node 9 from the network. 125. The method of claim 124 wherein the removing step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 8 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 7; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 8; communicatively linking node 5 and node 0; communicatively linking node 6 and node 3; communicatively linking node 4 and node 1 ; and communicatively linking node 7 and node 2. 126. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least eleven nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, and a node 10, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 8; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 9; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 8, and node 10; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 8, and node 10; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 9; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; and node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 5, and node 6; and reconfiguring the network. 127. The method of claim 126 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 11 to the network. 128. The method of claim 127 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 3 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 4; communicatively linking node 11 and node 0; communicatively linking node 11 and node 3; communicatively linking node 11 and node 4; communicatively linking node 11 and node 7; and communicatively linking node 11 and node 10. 129. The method of claim 126 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 10 from the network. 130. The method of claim 129 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 10 and node 1; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 7 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 6; communicatively linking node 2 and node 1 ; communicatively linking node 6 and node 4; and communicatively linking node 7 and node 5. 131. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least twelve nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, and a node 11, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 ; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 ; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 11 ; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 4, node 8, and node 10; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 8, and node 10; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 6, node 9, and node 11 ; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 6, and node 9; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 4, node 7, and node 8; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 5, node 6, and node 11; and node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 4, node 7, and node 10; and reconfiguring the network. 132. The method of claim 131 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 12 to the network. 133. The method of claim 132 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 1 1 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 7; communicatively linking node 12 and node 4; communicatively linking node 9 and node 5; communicatively linking node 11 and node 6; communicatively linking node 12 and node 7; communicatively linking node 12 and node 8; and communicatively linking node 12 and node 10. 134. The method of claim 131 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 11 from the network. 135. The method of claim 134 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 11 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 7; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 10; communicatively linking node 3 and node 0; and communicatively linking node 7 and node 4. 136. The method of claim 131 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes: adding a node 12 and a node 13 to the network. 137. The method of claim 136 wherein the adding step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 11 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 8 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 7; communicatively linking node 12 and node 4; communicatively linking node 12 and node 7; communicatively linking node 12 and node 8; communicatively linking node 12 and node 10; communicatively linking node 13 and node 5; communicatively linking node 13 and node 6; communicatively linking node 13 and node 9; communicatively linking node 13 and node 11; and communicatively linking node 13 and node 12. 138. The method of claim 131 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes : removing node 10 and node 11 from the network. 139. The method of claim 138 wherein the removing step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 10 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 2; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 7; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 10; communicatively linking node 2 and node 1 ; communicatively linking node 6 and node 4; communicatively linking node 7 and node 5; and communicatively linking node 3 and node 0. 140. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least thirteen nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, and a node 12, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 : node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 ; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 6, and node 8; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 7, and node 10; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 6, node 11 , and node 12; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 4, node 8, and node 11 ; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 6, node 11, and node 12; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 7, node 9, and node 10; and node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, and node 10; and reconfiguring the network. 141. The method of claim 140 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 13 to the network. 142. The method of claim 141 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 9 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 1 1 and node 6; communicatively linking node 13 and node 5; communicatively linking node 13 and node 6; communicatively linking node 13 and node 9; communicatively linking node 13 and node 11 ; and communicatively linking node 13 and node 12. 143. The method of claim 140 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 12 from the network. 144. The method of claim 143 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 12 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 6 removing the communication link between node 12 and node 7 removing the communication link between node 12 and node 8 removing the communication link between node 12 and node 10; communicatively linking node 11 and node 4; communicatively linking node 10 and node 5; communicatively linking node 8 and node 6; and communicatively linking node 9 and node 7. 145. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least fourteen nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, a node 12, and a node 13, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 ; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 ; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 8, and node 13; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 10, and node 13; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 6, node 11 , and node 12; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 4, node 8, and node 13; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 6, node 1 1, and node 12; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 7, node 10, and node 13; node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, node 10, and node 13; and node 13 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 9, node 11, and node 12; and reconfiguring the network. 146. The method of claim 145 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 14 to the network. 147. The method of claim 146 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 8 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 6; communicatively linking node 14 and node 5; communicatively linking node 14 and node 6; communicatively linking node 14 and node 8; and communicatively linking node 14 and node 10. 148. The method of claim 145 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 13 from the network. 149. The method of claim 148 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 13 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 9; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 11 ; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 12; communicatively linking node 9 and node 5; and communicatively linking node 11 and node 6. 150. The method of claim 145 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes: adding a node 14 and a node 15 to the network. 151. The method of claim 150 wherein the adding step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 8 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 10 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 9 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 7; communicatively linking node 14 and node 5; communicatively linking node 14 and node 6; communicatively linking node 14 and node 8; communicatively linking node 14 and node 10; communicatively linking node 15 and node 4; communicatively linking node 15 and node 7; communicatively linking node 15 and node 9; communicatively linking node 15 and node 11 ; and communicatively linking node 15 and node 14. 152. The method of claim 145 wherein the step of reconfiguring includes: removing node 12 and node 13 from the network. 153. The method of claim 152 wherein the removing step includes the steps of: removing the communication link between node 12 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 12 and node 7; removing the communication link between node 12 and node 8; removing the communication link between node 12 and node 10; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 9; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 11; removing the communication link between node 13 and node 12; communicatively linking node 11 and node 4; communicatively linking node 10 and node 5; communicatively linking node 8 and node 6; and communicatively linking node 9 and node 7. 154. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least fifteen nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, a node 12, a node 13, and a node 14, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 ; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 ; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 9, and node 12; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 4, node 13, and node 14; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 13, and node 14; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 6, node 11 , and node 12; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 9, node 12, and node 14; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 4, node 8, and node 13; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 11, node 12, and node 14; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 7, node 10, and node 13; node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, node 10, and node 13; node 13 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 9, node 11, and node 12; and node 14 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 8, and node 10; and reconfiguring the network. 155. The method of claim 154 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: adding a node 15 to the network. 156. The method of claim 155 wherein the adding step includes: removing the communication link between node 9 and node 4; removing the communication link between node 11 and node 7; communicatively linking node 15 and node 4; communicatively linking node 15 and node 7; communicatively linking node 15 and node 9; communicatively linking node 15 and node 1 1; and communicatively linking node 15 and node 14. 157. The method of claim 154 wherein the reconfiguring step includes: removing node 14 from the network. 158. The method of claim 157 wherein the removing step includes: removing the communication link between node 14 and node 5; removing the communication link between node 14 and node 6; removing the communication link between node 14 and node 8; removing the communication link between node 14 and node 10; communicatively linking node 8 and node 5; and communicatively linking node 10 and node 6. 159. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least six nodes, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, and a node 5, wherein each of the nodes is communicatively linked to each other; and adding a node 6 to the network by performing the following steps: removing the communication link between node 2 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 4 and node 3; communicatively linking node 6 to node 0; communicatively linking node 6 to node 2; communicatively linking node 6 to node 3; and communicatively linking node 6 to node 4. 160. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least six nodes, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, and a node 5, wherein each of the six nodes is communicatively linked to each other; and adding a node 6 and a node 7 to the network by performing the following steps: removing the communication link between node 2 and node 0; removing the communication link between node 4 and node 3; removing the communication link between node 3 and node 1 ; removing the communication link between node 5 and node 2; communicatively linking node 6 to node 0; communicatively linking node 6 to node 2; communicatively linking node 6 to node 3; communicatively linking node 6 to node 4; communicatively linking node 7 to node 1 ; communicatively linking node 7 to node 2; communicatively linking node 7 to node 3; communicatively linking node 7 to node 5; and communicatively linking node 7 to node 6. 161. A method in a distributed system containing a network with nodes, each of the nodes having ports, comprising the steps of: configuring the network to maximize usage of the ports; rendering the network operational such that the nodes are capable of communicating via the network using static routing; and reconfiguring the network while the network remains operational. 162. The method of claim 161 wherein the static routing is performed deadlock free. 163. The method of claim 161 wherein the reconfiguring step includes adding a new node to the network. 164. The method of claim 161 wherein the reconfiguring step includes adding two new nodes to the network. 165. The method of claim 161 wherein the reconfiguring step includes removing one of the nodes from the network. 166. The method of claim 161 wherein the reconfiguring step includes removing two of the nodes from the network. 167. The method of claim 161 wherein each of the nodes has a routing table for routing traffic through the network, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: replacing the routing tables with interim routing tables which route the traffic around a part of the network affected by the reconfiguration; performing the reconfiguration; and substituting new routing tables for the interim routing tables. 168. The method of claim 167, wherein the interim routing tables are deadlock free. 169. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 - 3 - - - 1 2 1 - - - - 3 - - - 5 - 4 - - - 2 - 5 170. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, and a node 6, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 - 3 - - - - 1 - - 2 - - 4 2 1 - - - 4 - 3 - 0 - 5 - - 4 - - - 2 - - 5 - - 3 - - 3 6 - 0 - - - 4 171. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, and a node 7, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 1 - - 2 - - 7 - 2 1 - - - 4 - - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - 4 - - - 2 - - 6 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - 7 1 - - - 5 - - 172. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, and a node 8, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 1 - - 2 5 - 7 - 5 2 1 - - - 4 - 6 6 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 4 - 0 - 2 - - 6 0 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - - 7 1 - 3 - 5 - - 3 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 173. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, and a node 9, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 - 8 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - 2 6 9 - - 4 - 6 9 - 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - - 8 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 174. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, and a node 10, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 6 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 2 6 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 5 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 2 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 - 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 - 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 1 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 6 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 1 10 1 - - 2 5 - - 6 6 2 175. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, and a node 11, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 2 4 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 0,6 9 - 2 0 5 1 - 3 - - 1,7 1 - 8 1 3 6 - 0 - 2 2 2,4 - 0 2 - 10 7 1 - 3 - 3,5 3 - 3 1 11 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 3 - 0,1 0 1 9 1 - - 2 - 4 2 1 - 1 1,1 0 10 1 - - 2 2 1 - 6 2,9 2 - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 3,8 - 176. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 1 1, and a node 12, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: 177. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, a node 12, and a node 13, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: 178. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 1 1, a node 12, a node 13, and a node 14, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: 179. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, and a node 5, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 0 - 3 - - - 1 - - 2 - - 2 1 - - - 4 3 - 0 - 5 - 4 - - - 2 - 5 - - 3 - - 180. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, and a node 7, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 - 3 - - 4 - 6 1 - - 2 5 - 7 - 2 1 - - - 4 - 6 3 - 0 - 5 - 7 - 4 - 0 - 2 - - 6 5 1 - 3 - - 7 - 6 - 0 - 2 - 4 - 7 1 - 3 - 5 - - 181. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, and a node 9, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ TO 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - 2 6 9 - - 4 - 6 9 - 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 9 9 - 5 1 - 3 - - 8 1 - 8 6 - 0 - 2 2 8 - - 8 7 1 - 3 - 9 3 - 9 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - - 6 - 9 1 - - 2 - 4 7 - - 182. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, and a node 11, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: FROM \ 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 TO 0 - 4 8 - 4 - 6 - 8 11 - 1 - 9 5 5 - 7 - 9 - - 10 2 4 10 - - 4 - 6 9 - - 10 3 8 7 - 5 - 7 - - 8 11 - 4 - 0 - 2 - 0 0,6 9 - 2 0 5 1 - 3 - - 1,7 1 - 8 1 3 6 - 0 - 2 2 2,4 - 0 2 - 10 7 1 - 3 - 3,5 3 - 3 1 11 - 8 - 0 3 - 5 - 0 3 - 0,1 0 1 9 1 - - 2 - 4 2 1 - 1 1,10 10 1 - - 2 2 1 - 6 2,9 2 - 11 - 0 3 - 0 3 7 - 3 3,8 - 183. The method of claim 161, wherein the network has a node 0, a node 1 , a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, a node 12, and a node 13, and wherein the reconfiguring step includes: utilizing the following routings for routing network traffic during the reconfiguration: 184. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least sixteen nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, a node 12, a node 13, a node 14, and a node 15, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 ; node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10; node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10; node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 11 ; node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 12, and node 15; node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 4, node 13, and node 14; node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 13, and node 14; node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 6, node 12, and node 15; node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 9, node 12, and node 14; node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 8, node 13, and node 15; node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 1 1, node 12, and node 14; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 10, node 13, and node 15; node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, node 10, and node 13; node 13 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 9, node 11, and node 12; node 14 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 8, node 10, and node 15; and node 15 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 9, node 11, and node 14; and reconfiguring the network by performing the following steps: removing the link between node 15 and node 4; removing the link between node 15 and node 7; removing the link between node 15 and node 9; removing the link between node 15 and node 11 ; removing the link between node 15 and node 14; adding a link between node 9 and node 4; and adding a link between node 11 and node 7. 185. A method in a distributed system, comprising the steps of: providing a network comprising at least sixteen nodes that are not fully connected, the nodes including a node 0, a node 1, a node 2, a node 3, a node 4, a node 5, a node 6, a node 7, a node 8, a node 9, a node 10, a node 11, a node 12, a node 13, a node 14, and a node 15, the nodes being communicatively linked as follows: node 0 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 4, node 6, node 8, and node 11 node 1 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 5, node 7, node 9, and node 10 node 2 is communicatively linked to node 3, node 4, node 6, node 9, and node 10 node 3 is communicatively linked to node 2, node 5, node 7, node 8, and node 1 1 node 4 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 5, node 12, and node 15 node 5 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 3, node 4, node 13, and node 14 node 6 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 2, node 7, node 13, and node 14 node 7 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 3, node 6, node 12, and node 15 node 8 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 9, node 12, and node 14 node 9 is communicatively linked to node 1 , node 2, node 8, node 13, and node 15 node 10 is communicatively linked to node 1, node 2, node 11, node 12, and node 14; node 11 is communicatively linked to node 0, node 3, node 10, node 13, and node 15; node 12 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 8, node 10, and node 13; node 13 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 9, node 11, and node 12; node 14 is communicatively linked to node 5, node 6, node 8, node 10, and node 15; and node 15 is communicatively linked to node 4, node 7, node 9, node 11, and node 14; and reconfiguring the network by performing the following steps: removing the link between node 14 and node 5; removing the link between node 14 and node 6; removing the link between node 14 and node 8; removing the link between node 14 and node 10; removing the link between node 15 and node 4; removing the link between node 15 and node 7; removing the link between node 15 and node 9; removing the link between node 15 and node 11 ; removing the link between node 15 and node 14; adding a link between node 8 and node 5; adding a link between node 10 and node 6; adding a link between node 9 and node 4; and adding a link between node 11 and node 7.

Inventors: CASSIDAY DANIEL, HELLER STEVEN K, STEELE GUY L JR, WADE JON, CASSIDAY, DANIEL, HELLER, STEVEN, K., STEELE, GUY, L., JR., WADE, JON
Applicants: SUN MICROSYSTEMS INC, SUN MICROSYSTEMS, INC.
Application year: 2000
Main classification: H04L12
IPC codes: G06F15