In the networking industry there is currently an initiative for improving the capabilities of Ethernet in the context of data centres. The purpose is to make it possible to converge LAN, SAN, and HPC applications onto a single interconnection network, i.e. Data Centre Ethernet. This is also considered necessary for Ethernet to remain competitive with InfiniBand in high performance computing and advanced data centres. There is an ongoing standardisation effort that seeks to enhance Ethernet with better link level flow-control, traffic classes, congestion management etc. But exactly how to do this is still being researched.

The purpose of this thesis is to analyse and suggested improvements to one or more of the features planned for Data Centre Ethernet.

What you will do:

• you will follow an IEEE standardisation effort, analyse existing proposals, and research and evaluate new proposals
• you will program the suggested enhancements in the OMNeT++ or similar tools
• you will make performance measurements based on simulations

What you will learn:

• you will get to know both the current and future Ethernet architecture with its strengths and weaknesses
• you will obtain a thorough understanding of several basic network features  
• you will also learn to analyse network performance based on simulations

References

• Wikipedia: Data Center Ethernet
• Cisco White Paper about Data Center Ethernet
• Priority Grouping for DCB Networks

• OMNeT++ Community Site