A control-ahead ATM switch architecture and its performance

An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch architecture that uses the broadcasting transmission medium for transmission of cells from input ports to output ports is introduced. Cell transmission and its control are separated completely, and cell transmission control, i.e. header operation, is executed before cell transmission (control ahead). With this operation, cell transmission and its control can be executed in a pipeline style, allowing high-speed cell exchange and making transmission control easier. One of the essential problems for ATM switches which use the broadcasting transmission medium is high-speed operation of the transmission medium. The switch fabric performance is analyzed according to its switching speed. Numerical results show that the ATM switch proposed shows good cell loss performance even when its switching speed is restricted, provided that switch utilization is below 1. Extensions to the switch that lead to robustness against bursty traffic are shown.<
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