Channel bonding

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Channel bonding is an arrangement of communications links in which two or more links are combined for redundancy or increased throughput. Examples include links associated with network interfaces on a host computer, or downstream and upstream channels within a DOCSIS cable modem connection. Channel bonding is differentiated from load balancing in that load balancing divides traffic between network interfaces on per network socket (OSI model layer 4) basis, while channel bonding implies a division of traffic between physical interfaces at a lower level, either per packet (OSI model Layer 3) or a data link (OSI model Layer 2) basis.

In general terms, throughput is the maximum rate of production or the maximum rate at which something can be processed.

Load balancing (computing) set of techniques to improve the distribution of workloads across multiple computing resources

In computing, load balancing improves the distribution of workloads across multiple computing resources, such as computers, a computer cluster, network links, central processing units, or disk drives. Load balancing aims to optimize resource use, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid overload of any single resource. Using multiple components with load balancing instead of a single component may increase reliability and availability through redundancy. Load balancing usually involves dedicated software or hardware, such as a multilayer switch or a Domain Name System server process.

A network socket is an internal endpoint for sending or receiving data within a node on a computer network. Concretely, it is a representation of this endpoint in networking software, such as an entry in a table, and is a form of system resource.

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Ethernet

On Ethernet interfaces, channel bonding requires assistance from both the Ethernet switch and the host computer's operating system, which must "stripe" the delivery of frames across the network interfaces in the same manner that I/O is striped across disks in a RAID 0 array.[ citation needed ] For this reason, some discussions of channel bonding also refer to Redundant Array of Inexpensive Nodes (RAIN) or to "redundant array of independent network interfaces". [1]

Ethernet computer networking technology

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3, and has since retained a good deal of backward compatibility and been refined to support higher bit rates and longer link distances. Over time, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies such as Token Ring, FDDI and ARCNET.

A network switch is a computer networking device that connects devices on a computer network by using packet switching to receive, process, and forward data to the destination device.

Operating system collection of software that manages computer hardware resources

An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware and software resources and provides common services for computer programs.

Modems

In analog modems, multiple dial-up links over POTS may be bonded. Throughput over such bonded connections can come closer to the aggregate bandwidth of the bonded links than can throughput under routing schemes which simply load-balance outgoing network connections over the links.

DSL

Similarly, multiple DSL lines can be bonded to give higher bandwidth; in the United Kingdom, ADSL is sometimes bonded to give for example 512kbit/s upload bandwidth and 4 megabit/s download bandwidth, in areas that only have access to 2 megabit/s bandwidth.

Digital subscriber line is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), the most commonly installed DSL technology, for Internet access.

United Kingdom Country in Europe

The United Kingdom, officially the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland but more commonly known as the UK or Britain, is a sovereign country lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state‍—‌the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the North Sea to the east, the English Channel to the south and the Celtic Sea to the south-west, giving it the 12th-longest coastline in the world. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland. With an area of 242,500 square kilometres (93,600 sq mi), the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world. It is also the 22nd-most populous country, with an estimated 66.0 million inhabitants in 2017.

DOCSIS

Under the DOCSIS 3.0 [2] and 3.1 [3] specifications for data over cable TV (CATV) systems, multiple channels may be bonded. Under DOCSIS 3.0, up to 32 downstream and 8 upstream channels may be bonded. These are typically 6 or 8MHz wide. DOCSIS 3.1 defines more complicated arrangements involving aggregation at the level subcarriers and larger notional channels.

Wireless Broadband

Broadband bonding is a type of channel bonding that refers to aggregation of multiple channels at OSI layers at level four or above. Channels bonded can be wired links such as a T-1 or DSL line. Additionally, it is possible to bond multiple cellular links for an aggregated wireless bonded link.

T-carrier

The T-carrier is a member of the series of carrier systems developed by AT&T Bell Laboratories for digital transmission of multiplexed telephone calls.

Cellular network communication network where the last link is wireless

A cellular network or mobile network is a communication network where the last link is wireless. The network is distributed over land areas called cells, each served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, but more normally three cell sites or base transceiver stations. These base stations provide the cell with the network coverage which can be used for transmission of voice, data, and other types of content. A cell typically uses a different set of frequencies from neighboring cells, to avoid interference and provide guaranteed service quality within each cell.

Previous bonding methodologies resided at lower OSI layers, requiring coordination with telecommunications companies for implementation. Broadband bonding, because it is implemented at higher layers, can be done without this coordination. [4]

Commercial implementations of Broadband Channel Bonding include:

See also: MIMO

Wi-Fi

See also

Related Research Articles

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A virtual LAN (VLAN) is any broadcast domain that is partitioned and isolated in a computer network at the data link layer. LAN is the abbreviation for local area network and in this context virtual refers to a physical object recreated and altered by additional logic. VLANs work by applying tags to network frames and handling these tags in networking systems – creating the appearance and functionality of network traffic that is physically on a single network but acts as if it is split between separate networks. In this way, VLANs can keep network applications separate despite being connected to the same physical network, and without requiring multiple sets of cabling and networking devices to be deployed.

Medium access control a service layer in IEEE 802 network standards

In IEEE 802 LAN/MAN standards, the medium access control (MAC) sublayer and the logical link control (LLC) sublayer together make up the data link layer. Within that data link layer, the LLC provides flow control and multiplexing for the logical link, while the MAC provides flow control and multiplexing for the transmission medium.

Network interface controller hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network

A network interface controller is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network.

Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP) is a proprietary Data Link Layer protocol developed by Cisco Systems. It is used to share information about other directly connected Cisco equipment, such as the operating system version and IP address. CDP can also be used for On-Demand Routing, which is a method of including routing information in CDP announcements so that dynamic routing protocols do not need to be used in simple networks.

EtherChannel

EtherChannel is a port link aggregation technology or port-channel architecture used primarily on Cisco switches. It allows grouping of several physical Ethernet links to create one logical Ethernet link for the purpose of providing fault-tolerance and high-speed links between switches, routers and servers. An EtherChannel can be created from between two and eight active Fast, Gigabit or 10-Gigabit Ethernet ports, with an additional one to eight inactive (failover) ports which become active as the other active ports fail. EtherChannel is primarily used in the backbone network, but can also be used to connect end user machines.

Ethernet flow control technology for computer networking

Ethernet flow control is a mechanism for temporarily stopping the transmission of data on Ethernet family computer networks. The goal of this mechanism is to ensure zero packet loss in the presence of network congestion.

Bridging (networking) Device that creates a larger computer network from two smaller networks

A network bridge is a computer networking device that creates a single aggregate network from multiple communication networks or network segments. This function is called network bridging. Bridging is distinct from routing. Routing allows multiple networks to communicate independently and yet remain separate, whereas bridging connects two separate networks as if they were a single network. In the OSI model, bridging is performed in the data link layer. If one or more segments of the bridged network are wireless, the device is known as a wireless bridge.

Computer network collection of autonomous computers interconnected by a single technology

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Port Aggregation Protocol (PAgP) is a Cisco Systems proprietary networking protocol, which is used for the automated, logical aggregation of Ethernet switch ports, known as an EtherChannel. The PAgP is proprietary to Cisco Systems. A similar protocol known as LACP — released by the IEEE and known as 802.3ad or 802.1ax recently — is an industry standard and is not tied to a specific vendor:

PME Aggregation Function (PAF) is a computer networking mechanism defined in Clause 61 of the IEEE 802.3 standard, which allows one or more Physical Medium Entities (PMEs) to be combined together to form a single logical Ethernet link.

Multi-link trunking

Multi-link trunking (MLT) is a link aggregation port trunking technology developed at Nortel in 1999. It allows grouping several physical Ethernet links into one logical Ethernet link to provide fault-tolerance and high-speed links between routers, switches, and servers. US patent 6731599, Van Hunter, Joseph Regan, Alfred Nothaft, Akhil Duggal; Regan, Joseph & Nothaft, Alfred et al., "Automatic Load Sharing-Trunking", issued 2004-05-04, assigned to Nortel Networks Limited and Avaya Holdings Limited

MC-LAG, or Multi-Chassis Link Aggregation Group, is a type of link aggregation group (LAG) with constituent ports that terminate on separate chassis, primarily for the purpose of providing redundancy in the event one of the chassis fails. The IEEE 802.1AX-2008 industry standard for link aggregation does not mention MC-LAG, but does not preclude it. Its implementation varies by vendor; notably, the protocol existing between the chassis is proprietary.

Open vSwitch

Open vSwitch, sometimes abbreviated as OVS, is an open-source implementation of a distributed virtual multilayer switch. The main purpose of Open vSwitch is to provide a switching stack for hardware virtualization environments, while supporting multiple protocols and standards used in computer networks.

References

  1. ↑ Jielin Dong, ed. (2007). Network Dictionary. ITPro collection. Javvin Technologies Inc. p. 95. ISBN   9781602670006 . Retrieved 2013-08-07. Channel bonding, sometimes also called redundant array of independent network interfaces (RAIN), is an arrangement in which two or more network interfaces on a host computer are combined for redundancy or increased throughput.
  2. ↑ DOCSIS 3.0 Physical Interface Specification
  3. ↑ DOCSIS 3.1 Physical Interface Specification
  4. ↑ "Broadband bonding offers high-speed alternative". engineeringbook.net. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  5. ↑ Mushroom Networks' Broadband Bonding Service
  6. ↑ Connectify's Speedify Service
  7. ↑ Peplink's SpeedFusion Bonding Technology
  8. ↑ Viprinet's Multichannel VPN Bonding Technology
  9. ↑ Elsight Multichannel Secure Data Link
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