Programmable network routers
Like all data networks, the networks that connect servers in giant server farms, or servers and workstations in large organizations, are prone to congestion. When network traffic is heavy, packets of data can get backed up at network routers or dropped altogether. Also like all data networks, big private networks have control algorithms for managing network traffic during periods of congestion. But because the routers that direct traffic in a server farm need to be superfast, the control algorithms are hardwired into the routers’ circuitry. That means that if someone develops a better algorithm, network operators have to wait for a new generation of hardware before they can take advantage of it. Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and five other organizations hope to change that, with routers that are programmable but can still keep up with the blazing speeds of modern data networks. The researchers outline their...