Scott Andrew Mansfield

Intelligent load balancing for shortest path bridging

This article provides an overview of a method to enhance the load spreading algorithms used by IEEE 802.1aq Shortest Path Bridging. The technique has a number of interesting properties with respect to distributing load on the basis of a measure of anticipated link utilization. What this provides is balanced network utilization and the ability to apply subtle modifications to the distribution of the traffic matrix previously unachievable with shortest path forwarding alone. This is achieved within the framework of the existing Ethernet technology base.

Semantics for Anything-as-a-Service [Guest Editorial]

A system is an assembly of interacting components where a component may itself be seen as a system. To interact, the components of a system must have a communication channel, a common protocol, some common semantics, and a shared representation of those semantics expressed at their respective ports. To achieve a shared representation requires some form of agreement and implementable standardization. To promote advancement, the standardization must embrace innovation as well as propagate domain insight via enabling constraints (like the shoulders of a road). Today there are many disconnected standardization and implementation activities. However, for successful broad advancement and improvement of solutions, it is vital that standardization is converged and the represented enabling constraints are applied to implementations.