Load balancing over symmetric virtual topologies

Abstract

Datacenter networks are often structured as multi-rooted trees to provide high bisection bandwidth at low cost. To utilize the available bisection bandwidth, an efficient load balancing algorithm is required. Packet Spraying is known to perform well in symmetric topologies as it provides per-packet load balancing over equal cost paths. However, packet spraying performs poorly in asymmetric topologies. In this paper we ask, “How can we make packet spraying effective in asymmetric topologies while retaining its simplicity?” Towards this end, we propose SAPS, “Symmetric Adaptive Packet Spraying”, an SDN-based scheme that uses packet spraying over symmetric virtual topologies. SAPS is based on the key insight that if we provide each flow with a symmetric view of the network fabric, then packet spraying can produce near-optimal performance. We evaluate SAPS using simulations and testbed experiments. Our results indicate that SAPS performs well for a variety of application workloads and asymmetric network scenarios.