SphericalMesh: A novel and flexible network topology for 60GHz-based wireless data centers

Abstract

Data center networks are becoming increasingly important for computing industry. By exploiting millimeter wavelength wireless technology (e.g., 60GHz), data centers are going to be more convenient for the interconnection of different components without complex wiring. 60GHz technique has been widely studied, and great progress has been achieved indeed. However, there are two significant challenges unsolved in 60GHz-based wireless data centers networks: link blockage and long network diameter. In this paper, we propose a new network topology, called Spherical Mesh, to improve the performance of wireless data center networks. Spherical Mesh can greatly mitigate link blockage by putting antennas at different heights, and decrease the network diameter by splitting the whole mesh into several equivalent units. Furthermore, we have implemented Spherical Mesh and evaluated its performance in different scenarios. Our evaluation results show that Spherical Mesh achieves minimal routing distance and guarantees the balance of workload.