A Guided Tour of Datacenter Networking
Venue
Communications of the ACM -- ACM Queue, vol. 55, number 6 (2012), pp. 44-51
Publication Year
2012
Authors
BibTeX
Abstract
The magic of the cloud is that it is always on and always available from anywhere.
Users have come to expect that services are there when they need them. A data
center (or warehouse-scale computer) is the nexus from which all the services flow.
It is often housed in a nondescript warehouse-sized building bearing no indication
of what lies inside. Amidst the whirring fans and refrigerator-sized computer racks
is a tapestry of electrical cables and fiber optics weaving everything together—the
data-center network. This article provides a “guided tour” through the principles
and central ideas surrounding the network at the heart of a data center—the
modern-day loom that weaves the digital fabric of the Internet.