Designing Switch/Routers: Architectures and Applications

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Preface
Author
Chapter 1: High-Performance Switch-Routers: Part 1: Basic Features
	1.1 Introduction
	1.2 Non-Blocking Architecture
	1.3 High Scalability
		1.3.1 Stackable Switches
		1.3.2 Stackable versus Modular Switches
		1.3.3 Switch Clustering
		1.3.4 General Scalability Features
	1.4 High Port and Interface Density
	1.5 Improved Modularity and Flexibility – Modules with Mixed 10/100/1000 Mb/s, 10 Gb/s, and Higher Gigabit Speed Interfaces
	1.6 Advanced QoS Features for Guaranteed Delivery of Time-Critical, Delay-Sensitive Traffic
	1.7 Enhanced Network Security and Access Control
	1.8 Efficient Multicast Support
	1.9 Node Redundancy and Resiliency
		1.9.1 General Observations – Device and Network Level Reliability
		1.9.2 Device-Level Hardware Resiliency Features
			1.9.2.1 Examples of Device Component Redundancy Configurations
			1.9.2.2 Carrier-Grade Equipment Requirements
			1.9.2.3 Implementing Control Plane Redundancy
				1.9.2.3.1 Traditional Dual-Route Processor Redundancy Techniques
					1.9.2.3.1.1 Cold Restart Redundancy (or Cold Standby Redundancy)
					1.9.2.3.1.2 Warm Restart Redundancy (or Warm Standby Redundancy)
				1.9.2.3.2 Limitations of the Traditional Dual-Route Processor Redundancy Techniques
				1.9.2.3.3 Enhanced Dual-Route Processor Redundancy Schemes
			1.9.2.4 Stateful Control Plane Switchover
			1.9.2.5 Non-stop Packet Forwarding
			1.9.2.6 Packet Forwarding in a Routing Device with SSO and NSF
			1.9.2.7 Control Plane Component Modularity and the Issue of Component Restartability
		1.9.3 Device-Level Software Resiliency Features
		1.9.4 Understanding Online Insertion and Removal or Hot Swapping
		1.9.5 Single Line Card Reload
		1.9.6 Layer 1/Layer 2 Protocol Resiliency Features
		1.9.7 Layer 3 Protocol Resiliency Features
		1.9.8 Focus – Load Balancing Features
	Review Questions
	References
Chapter 2: High-Performance Switch/Routers: Part 2: Advanced and Value-Added Features
	2.1 Improved Manageability and Lower Total Cost of Ownership
	2.2 General Switch Management
	2.3 Management with SNMP
		2.3.1 SNMP Components
			2.3.1.1 Network Management System
			2.3.1.2 SNMP Agent
			2.3.1.3 Management Information Base
		2.3.2 SNMP Versions
		2.3.3 SNMPv1/SNMPv2c Interoperability
			2.3.3.1 SNMPv2 Proxy Agents
			2.3.3.2 Bilingual Network Management Systems
		2.3.4 SNMP Message Types
		2.3.5 SNMP Notifications
		2.3.6 SNMPv1/v2 Security: SNMP Agent and SNMP Manager Authentication and Communication
		2.3.7 SNMPv3 Security
			2.3.7.1 User-Based Security Model
			2.3.7.2 View-Based Access Control Model
	2.4 Secure Access
		2.4.1 Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting
		2.4.2 Terminal Access Controller Access Control System Plus
		2.4.3 Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
		2.4.4 IEEE 802.1X
			2.4.4.1 What Is MAC Authentication Bypass?
		2.4.5 Secure Shell
			2.4.5.1 SSH Sub-Layers
			2.4.5.2 Key Features and Functions of the SSH Transport Layer Protocol
				2.4.5.2.1 Algorithm Negotiation
				2.4.5.2.2 Key Exchange Method
					2.4.5.2.2.1 Key Exchange Output
					2.4.5.2.2.2 Use of Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange in Secure Shell
				2.4.5.2.3 Server Host Key Algorithm
				2.4.5.2.4 Encryption Algorithms
				2.4.5.2.5 Message Authentication Code (MAC) Algorithms
				2.4.5.2.6 Compression Algorithm
			2.4.5.3 Key Features and Functions of the SSH User Authentication Protocol
				2.4.5.3.1 Public Key Authentication Method
				2.4.5.3.2 Password Authentication Method
				2.4.5.3.3 Host-Based Authentication
				2.4.5.3.4 Keyboard-Interactive Authentication
				2.4.5.3.5 GSS-API (Generic Security Service Application Program Interface) Authentication Methods
					2.4.5.3.5.1 Using GSS-API
					2.4.5.3.5.2 Using GSSAPI and Kerberos
			2.4.5.4 Key Features and Functions of the SSH Connection Protocol
				2.4.5.4.1 Global Requests
				2.4.5.4.2 Channel Mechanisms and Requests
				2.4.5.4.3 Interactive Sessions
				2.4.5.4.4 SSH Port Forwarding
					2.4.5.4.4.1 Requesting SSH Port Forwarding
					2.4.5.4.4.2 Local SSH Port Forwarding
					2.4.5.4.4.3 Remote SSH Port Forwarding
					2.4.5.4.4.4 Dynamic Port Forwarding Using SSH
	2.5 Traffic Monitoring
		2.5.1 sFlow and NetFlow
		2.5.2 Remote Network MONitoring
	2.6 Enhanced System Diagnostics and Debugging
	2.7 Manageability, Serviceability, and Ease of Device Integration
	2.8 Value-Added Network Services
		2.8.1 Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
			2.8.1.1 Benefits of DHCP
			2.8.1.2 Protocol Specifics
			2.8.1.3 Using DHCP
			2.8.1.4 Use of DHCP Relay Agents
			2.8.1.5 DHCP IP Address Conflict Detection and Resolution
				2.8.1.5.1 DHCP Server-Side Conflict Detection
				2.8.1.5.2 DHCP Client-Side Conflict Detection
		2.8.2 Domain Name System (DNS)
			2.8.2.1 Domain Namespace
			2.8.2.2 What Is a DNS Record?
			2.8.2.3 Name Servers
				2.8.2.3.1 DNS Resolver
				2.8.2.3.2 Root Name Server
				2.8.2.3.3 Top-Level Domain Name Server
				2.8.2.3.4 Authoritative Name Server
			2.8.2.4 Primary versus Secondary DNS Servers
			2.8.2.5 DNS Operation
				2.8.2.5.1 Types of DNS Queries
					2.8.2.5.1.1 Non-Recursive Query
					2.8.2.5.1.2 Recursive Query
					2.8.2.5.1.3 Iterative Query
				2.8.2.5.2 DNS Caching
					2.8.2.5.2.1 DNS Caching at the Web Browser Level
					2.8.2.5.2.2 DNS Caching at the Operating System (OS) Level
					2.8.2.5.2.3 What Is a Caching Name Server?
				2.8.2.5.3 DNS Lookup and Resolution Sequence
					2.8.2.5.3.1 DNS Lookup with DNS Information Cached Locally
					2.8.2.5.3.2 DNS Lookup with DNS Information Not Cached Locally
			2.8.2.6 DNS Protocol and Extensions
				2.8.2.6.1 DNS Security
				2.8.2.6.2 Dynamic DNS
					2.8.2.6.2.1 Dynamic DNS Coupled with DHCP Services
					2.8.2.6.2.2 Dynamic DNS with Service Provider Registration and Client Software
				2.8.2.6.3 Reverse DNS Lookup
	2.9 Energy-Efficient Designs
		2.9.1 Making the Switch/Router Energy Efficient
			2.9.1.1 Power System Design
			2.9.1.2 ASIC Design
			2.9.1.3 Functional Integration and Compaction
			2.9.1.4 Port Density
		2.9.2 Addressing Energy Efficiency
	2.10 Future-Proofing the Network – Support for Industry Standards and IPv6
		2.10.1 Support for Industry Standards
		2.10.2 Future-Proofing the Network with IPv6
	2.11 Ease of Use: Plug and Play
		2.11.1 LLDP
		2.11.2 LLDP-MED
		2.11.3 Other Configuration Mechanisms
	2.12 Power-over-Ethernet
	2.13 Improved Price/Performance
	2.14 Portability of Switch/Router Operating System across Multiple Platforms
		2.14.1 Vendor Advantages
		2.14.2 End-User Advantages
	Review Questions
	References
Chapter 3: Designing the Switch/Router: A Design Example and What to Consider When Designing a Switch/Router
	3.1 Introduction
	3.2 High-Level Architecture of a High-Performance Switch/Router
	3.3 The Line Card
		3.3.1 Packet Buffer
		3.3.2 Packet Processing Functions – Packet Processor
		3.3.3 Routing and Classification Tables
		3.3.4 Context Memory – Route/Flow Cache Memory
		3.3.5 Traffic Management Functions
			3.3.5.1 Metering and Statistics Collection
			3.3.5.2 Traffic Queuing and Scheduling
			3.3.5.3 Internal Congestion Control
		3.3.6 Packet Header Modification
		3.3.7 Packet Classification Using Ternary Content Addressable Memory
	3.4 The Switch Fabric
		3.4.1 Avoiding Head-of-Line Blocking
		3.4.2 Handling Multicast Traffic
		3.4.3 Switch Fabric Speedup
	3.5 System Backplane
		3.5.1 Backplane Ethernet
	3.6 Mesh Interconnects
		3.6.1 Most Common System Interconnect Topologies
		3.6.2 Example Mesh Interconnect Architecture
	3.7 The Route Processor Module
		3.7.1 Route Processor Module Functions
			3.7.1.1 Running Routing Protocols, Sending, and Receiving Protocol Updates
			3.7.1.2 Creating and Maintaining the Routing Table
			3.7.1.3 Monitoring System Interfaces and Environmental Status
			3.7.1.4 Providing Management Interfaces
			3.7.1.5 Building and Distributing Forwarding Tables to Line Cards
			3.7.1.6 Communicating with Line Cards
			3.7.1.7 Supporting Redundancy and High-Availability Features
		3.7.2 Implementing the Route Processor Module
		3.7.3 Route Processor Module Components
			3.7.3.1 CPU
			3.7.3.2 Memory Components
				3.7.3.2.1 Main System Memory (RAM)
				3.7.3.2.2 Packet Memory (RAM)
				3.7.3.2.3 CPU Cache Memory
				3.7.3.2.4 Non-Volatile RAM (NVRAM)
				3.7.3.2.5 Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
				3.7.3.2.6 Flash Memory
				3.7.3.2.7 PC Card Slots
				3.7.3.2.8 Hard Drives
			3.7.3.3 Memory Types and Router Boot Sequence
			3.7.3.4 System Configuration, Management, and Monitoring
				3.7.3.4.1 System Software Management Interfaces
				3.7.3.4.2 System Physical Management Interfaces
					3.7.3.4.2.1 Console Port
					3.7.3.4.2.2 Auxiliary Port
					3.7.3.4.2.3 Ethernet Port
				3.7.3.4.3 Air-Temperature Sensors for Environmental Monitoring
			3.7.3.5 Other System Components
		3.7.4 Important Route Processor Module Software Components
			3.7.4.1 Route Processor Kernel
			3.7.4.2 The Routing Protocol Process
			3.7.4.3 The Interface Process
				3.7.4.3.1 Physical and Logical Interface Properties
					3.7.4.3.1.1 Interface Types
					3.7.4.3.1.2 Interface Naming and Numbering
					3.7.4.3.1.3 Logical or Virtual Interfaces
					3.7.4.3.1.4 Interface Properties
				3.7.4.3.2 Software User Interfaces
			3.7.4.4 The Chassis Process
			3.7.4.5 The SNMP and MIB Processes
			3.7.4.6 The Management Process
				3.7.4.6.1 Juniper Networks JUNOS OS CLI Use Modes
					3.7.4.6.1.1 Operational Mode
					3.7.4.6.1.2 Configuration Mode
				3.7.4.6.2 Cisco IOS CLI Use Modes
			3.7.4.7 Microcode
			3.7.4.8 Inter-Process Communications Services
			3.7.4.9 Punting Control and Exception Packets
			3.7.4.10 Inter-Card Communications Services
	3.8 Distributed Route Processors or Routing Engines
		3.8.1 Control-Data Plane Separation and the Routing Engine
	Review Questions
	References
Chapter 4: Case Study: Force10 Networks E-Series Switch/Router Architecture
	4.1 Introduction
	4.2 E-Series Switch Chassis Overview
	4.3 Switch Fabric
		4.3.1 Overall System Capacity
		4.3.2 System Dimensioning
		4.3.3 Non-blocking Features
	4.4 Distributed Layer 2/Layer 3 Forwarding
		4.4.1 Distributed Forwarding
		4.4.2 Hardware-Based Table Lookups
		4.4.3 Traffic Management and Quality-of-Service Mechanisms
		4.4.4 Understanding the Force10’s Enhanced Access Control Lists Update
			4.4.4.1 Traditional Two-Step Access Control Lists Update Process
			4.4.4.2 Force10 Hot-Lock TM Access Control Lists Update Process
	4.5 Distributed Multiprocessor Control Plane
		4.5.1 The Force10 Operating System
		4.5.2 Control Plane Scalability
		4.5.3 Hardware Abstraction in FTOS
		4.5.4 Processes Running on Each CPU on the E-Series Platform
		4.5.5 Control Plane Protection and Security
		4.5.6 Traffic Statistics Collection
	4.6 E-Series High-Availability Features
		4.6.1 Redundancy of Critical Components and Environmental Monitoring
		4.6.2 Route Processor Module Failover
		4.6.3 Pre-Configuration and Persistent Configuration of Line Card Slots
		4.6.4 E-Series Maintenance and Management Features
		4.6.5 E-Series Link and Network Availability Features
	4.7 E-Series Diagnostics and Debugging System
		4.7.1 Proactive Diagnostics and Debugging
			4.7.1.1 Runtime System Health Checks
			4.7.1.2 Switch Fabric Module Channel Monitoring
			4.7.1.3 Parity Error Scanning
			4.7.1.4 Automatic Information Collection Triggered by Software Exceptions
		4.7.2 Reactive Diagnostics and Debugging
			4.7.2.1 Offline Diagnostics
			4.7.2.2 Runtime Hardware Monitoring
	4.8 Packet Walk-Through
	References
Chapter 5: Case Study: Foundry Networks BigIron RX Series Switch/Routers Architecture
	5.1 Introduction
	5.2 Key Features of the BigIron RX Series
	5.3 BigIron RX Series Switch Fabric Architecture
	5.4 Distributed Wire-Speed Packet Forwarding
	5.5 Distributed Queuing and Fine-Grained QoS Control
	5.6 BigIron RX Series High-Availability Features
	References
Chapter 6: The Ethernet Advantage in Networking
	6.1 Introduction
	6.2 Ethernet Physical Layer Types
	6.3 Benefits of Ethernet
		6.3.1 Lower Cost
		6.3.2 Ubiquitous Connectivity
			6.3.2.1 Ethernet in the LAN
			6.3.2.2 Ethernet in the MAN
			6.3.2.3 Ethernet in the WAN
		6.3.3 Protect Existing Network Investments
		6.3.4 Proven Interoperability
		6.3.5 Ease of Management
		6.3.6 Advanced Networking Features
	6.4 Industry Trends
		6.4.1 IP/Ethernet Storage
			6.4.1.1 IP/Ethernet Storage Categories
			6.4.1.2 IP/Ethernet Storage Devices
		6.4.2 High-Performance Computing Clusters
		6.4.3 Other Industry Trends
	6.5 Role of Ethernet in Network Infrastructure Virtualization
		6.5.1 Data Center Interconnect and Switching Fabric Unification
		6.5.2 Ethernet as the Data Center Interconnect and Switching Fabric
		6.5.3 Advances in Ethernet Switching and NIC Design – Enablers for Data Center Networking
			6.5.3.1 Low Latency Switching
			6.5.3.2 Off-Loading Protocol Processing
	6.6 Virtualization as a Vehicle for Network and Computing Resource Consolidation
		6.6.1 Virtualization Technologies
			6.6.1.1 Infrastructure Virtualization
			6.6.1.2 Cluster Computing
			6.6.1.3 Grid Computing
			6.6.1.4 Layer 3 Virtual Switching (Virtual Routing and Forwarding)
		6.6.2 Virtualization Middleware
			6.6.2.1 Primary Functions of the Virtualization Middleware
				6.6.2.1.1 Resource Discovery and Monitoring
				6.6.2.1.2 Resource Allocation and Management
				6.6.2.1.3 Performance Monitoring and Accounting
				6.6.2.1.4 Message Passing System
				6.6.2.1.5 Security
			6.6.2.2 Integration of Virtualization Middleware
	References
Chapter 7: Applications of Switch/Router
	7.1 Introduction
	7.2 Data Center and Application Hosting
		7.2.1 Switch/Routers in Data Centers
		7.2.2 Virtualization of Data Centers
	7.3 High-Performance Computing
		7.3.1 Switch/Routers in HPC
		7.3.2 Switched Ethernet Networks for HPC
			7.3.2.1 Single Switch Ethernet Network for HPC
			7.3.2.2 Dual-Switch Ethernet Network for HPC
			7.3.2.3 Meshed Ethernet Networks for HPC
			7.3.2.4 Switched Ethernet Networks for Grid of Clusters
	7.4 Enterprise Infrastructure
	7.5 Features of 10 Gigabit Ethernet Switch/Routers
	References
Index