Flexible Network Switch Fabric for Clustering (DEAL 659)

This invention is generally related to a network switch fabric for connecting multiple nodes in a cluster system, allowing flexible and scalable connections, supporting multiple interconnection protocols on a shared infrastructure, and enhancing flexibility in network configuration and deployment. Disclosed is a network switch fabric for clustering systems having multiple nodes. Each node has two system I/O buses. The system has a baseboard with two network switches and a set of network slots divided into two groups. Also disclosed that each group is connected to one of the switches and corresponding node I/O buses. The system has multiple network interface cards with different interconnection protocols, and a number of differential pairs can be inserted into the slots. The system allows each node to connect to both network switches through separate buses to improve scalability. The technology may be implemented in data centers, cloud systems, modular server systems, high-performance computing (HPC) clusters, etc.