SWAN: ACHIEVING HIGH UTILIZATION IN NETWORKS

Greater network utilization is implemented through dynamic network reconfiguration and allocation of network services and resources based on the data to be transferred and the consumer transferring it. A hierarchical system is utilized whereby requests from lower layers are aggregated before being provided to upper layers, and allocations received from upper layers are distributed to lower layers. To maximize network utilization, paths through the network are reconfigured by identifying specific types of packets that are to be flagged in a specific manner, and then by further identifying specific routing rules to be applied in the transmission of such packets. Network reconfiguration is performed on an incremental basis to avoid overloading a path, and capacity can be reserved along one or more paths to prevent such overloading. Background data is agnostic as to specific transmission times and is utilized to prevent overloading due to reconfiguration.