Tapping into the router's unutilized processing power

The growing demand for network programmability has led to the introduction of complex packet processing features that are increasingly hard to provide at full line rates. In this paper, we introduce a novel load-balancing approach that provides more processing power to congested linecards by tapping into the processing power of underutilized linecards. Using different switch-fabric models, we introduce algorithms that aim at minimizing the total average delay and maximizing the capacity region. Our simulations with real-life traces then confirm that our algorithms outperform current algorithms as well as simple alternative load-balancing algorithms. Finally, we discuss the implementation issues involved in this new way of sharing the router processing power.