Patent ID: 10687128

Abstract:
A reduced-complexity optical packet switch which can provide a deterministic guaranteed rate of service to individual traffic flows is described. The switch contains N input ports, M output ports and N*M Virtual Output Queues (VOQs). Packets are associated with a flow f, which arrive an input port and depart on an output port, according to a predetermined routing for the flow. These packets are buffered in a VOQ. The switch can be configured to store several deterministic periodic schedules, which can be managed by an SDN control-plane. A scheduling frame is defined as a set of F consecutive time-slots, where data can be transmitted over connections between input ports and output ports in each time-slot. Each input port can be assigned a first deterministic periodic transmission schedule, which determines which VOQ is selected to transmit, for every time-slot in the scheduling frame. Each input port can be assigned a second deterministic periodic schedule, which determines which traffic flow within a VOQ is selected to transmit. Each input port can be assigned a third deterministic periodic schedule, which specifies to which VOQ an arriving packet (if any) is destined, for each time-slot in a scheduling frame. Each input port can be assigned a fourth deterministic periodic schedule, which specifies to which Flow-VOQ within a VOQ an arriving packet (if any) is destined. In this manner, each traffic flow can receive a deterministic guaranteed-rate of transmission through the switch.