On the Load Patterns in Mesh/Torus Interconnection Networks as Packet Switching Fabrics

The performance of a mesh/torus interconnection network is significantly affected by its load pattern, which consists of two factors: the distribution of destinations, and the spatial relation between sources and destinations. Previously published works on the load patterns in mesh/torus networks are mostly about their applications in parallel computing, which is very different from packet switching. So these works are not appropriate for studying mesh/torus networks used as packet switching fabrics (PSF). On the other hand, traditional PSF, such as the Clos network, are not sensitive to the second factor. Therefore previously published works on the load patterns in traditional PSF are almost only focused on the first factor, so they are not appropriate either. In this paper, both mathematical analysis and simulation results are presented to study the load patterns in mesh/torus networks as PSF, with attentions focused on the impact of the spatial relation on the throughput of networks. A new load pattern model with information on the both two factors is also proposed. As far as we know, our work is the first to address the load patterns in mesh/torus networks as PSF