An experimental atm switching architemre for the evolving b-isdn scenario

This paper presents a second-generation ATU-based switching architecture suited for introduction in a B-ISDN environment which has been defined within the RACE project 1012 Broad band Lacal Network Technology (BLNI). Within the same RACE project an experimental switch model will be developed to investigate critical functional units and the overall concept. The architecture will be modular both in the switching network and in the control structure, with the possibility of separate upgrading, independent of the transmission technique (the experimental model will be interfaced with SDH access links), capable of being included in a non-ATM exchange architecture, following an add-on approach. In the paper the functional partitioning of the ATM switch and the basic building blacks of the exchange are described. Investigations on traffic characterization, performance design and definition of a strategy for resource management are reported