Session Abstract

There are several aspects of fixed configuration data center switches, those typically deployed in a top-of-rack scenario, that make them a compelling choice for deployment in the campus backbone (i.e. distribution and core layers). In this session we will discuss several of those aspects in comparison to more traditional backbone platforms and describe a deployment at Case Western Reserve University that was done as part of a CC-NIE project. Along with some of the more standard aspects such as cost, environmental (power / heat), scalability (port density / speed / buffers), and lifecycle, we will take a look at feature set. In particular we will focus on what are traditionally data center centric features (vxlan, advanced buffer monitoring, and automation) and discuss how these features might be leveraged in a campus's Cyberinfrastructure plan to facilitate research.