Cisco Technology, Inc.

Chandrasekhar V Modumudi

Lucien M Avramov

Sameer Kittur

Praful G Bhaidasna

Ayan Banerjee

Srinivasan Ramabadran

Rahul Savarapu Parameswaran

Ann Roshini Paul

In one illustrative example, an IP network media data router includes a spine and leaf switch architecture operative to provide IP multicast delivery of media data from source devices to receiver devices. The architecture may include K spine switches, K sets of L leaf switches, M data links between each leaf switch and each spine switch where each data link has a maximum link bandwidth of BW, and a plurality of bidirectional data ports connected to each leaf switch. Notably, the router is provided or specified with a number of bidirectional data ports N=(a/K)&#xd7;(BW/BW) for a guaranteed non-blocking IP multicast delivery of data at a maximum port bandwidth of BW, where 'a' is a fixed constant greater than or equal to K. The architecture may be reconfigurable or expandable to include C additional spine switches and C additional sets of L leaf switches. The reconfiguration may provide for a redistribution or reconnection of the M data links, so that the new number of M data links between each leaf switch and each spine switch is M=(K&#xd7;M)/(K+C)=a/K. The reconfiguration provides a new maximum number of bidirectional data ports as N=(a/K)&#xd7;(BW/BW) for maintaining the non-blocking IP multicast delivery of data at a maximum port bandwidth of BW.

Methods and apparatus for non-blocking IP multicast delivery of media data using spine and leaf architectures

A method for deployment and upgrade of network devices in a network environment includes receiving (for example, at a switch being activated in the network environment), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) information (for example, from a DHCP server in the network environment). The DHCP information includes a filename and location of a script file. The method further includes downloading the script file from a script server in the network environment and executing the script file. Executing the script file includes copying a configuration file and one or more software images to a memory element of the switch, where the configuration file includes configuration settings relevant to at least a switch identity, and a switch location in the network environment, installing the software images on the switch, rebooting the switch, applying configuration settings from the configuration file to the software images, and saving the configuration file to the memory element.

Deployment and upgrade of network devices in a network environment

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Bengaluru, India

Chandrasekhar V Modumudi