Banyan multipath self-routing ATM switches with shared buffer type switch elements

The asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) has been selected as the multiplexing and switching technique for use in the public broadband ISDN (B-ISDN). We propose a large-scale ATM switch architecture in which a banyan multipath self-routing network is combined advantageously with a shared buffer type switch element. The proposed banyan space-division concept yields a simple architecture having the potential to accommodate easily the growth of switch size. Since the interconnection network between switch modules or between switch elements has a twofold banyan architecture, expansion in crosspoints or interconnections with the increase of switch size can be lessened. The multipath self-routing concept makes the switch performance better and leads to an efficient realization of a switch element on a single chip as the fundamental building block of a large-size switch. We analyze the required capacity for queuing buffers in the switching network. The multipath approach inevitably creates information sequence disturbances. Therefore, we also analyze the out-of-sequence phenomenon of a banyan multipath switching system. To satisfy the sequence integrity requirement for ATM, a simple approach is proposed for the multipath switch by using a spacing controller. In addition, we quantify the improvement of out-of-sequence performance under the spacing controller scheme.