The authors present a high-performance self-routing packet switch architecture, called Sunshine, that can support a wide range of services having diverse performance objectives and traffic characteristics. Sunshine is based on Batcher-banyan networks and achieves high performance by utilizing both internal and output queuing techniques within a single architecture. This queuing strategy results in an extremely robust and efficient architecture suitable for a wide range of services. An enhanced architecture allowing the bandwidth from an arbitrary set of transmission links to be aggregated into trunk groups to create high bandwidth pipes is also presented. Trunk groups appear as a single logical port on the switch and can be used to increase the efficiency of the switch in an extremely bursty environment or to increase the access bandwidth for selected high-bandwidth terminations. Simulation results are presented. >

Sunshine: a high performance self-routing broadband packet switch architecture

For reasons of economy and flexibility, BISDN (Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network) is expected to replace existing application-oriented communication networks. ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a high-speed packet-switching technique that has emerged as the most promising technology for BISDN. Since early 1980s, a large number of architectures have been proposed for ATM switching. In this paper, we present a descriptive survey of ATM switch architectures, with emphasis on electronic space-division point-to-point switches.

Survey of ATM switch architectures

Large input-output buffering with a moderate speedup has been widely considered as the most feasible solution for large-capacity switches. We propose a new terabit per second packet switch and call it the Saturn switch. It uses a simple dual round-robin arbitration scheme to schedule packets, and achieves high throughput and low statistical delay bound. It employs a bit-sliced crossbar fabric to switch packets at 10 Gb/s at inputs and outputs, and adopts a novel token-tunneling technique to arbitrate contending packets at high speed (e.g., within 10 ns), thus achieving a switch capacity of more than 1 Tb/s with existing electronic technology.

Saturn: a terabit packet switch using dual round robin

Switch modules, the building blocks of this system, are independently operated packet switches. Each module consists of a Batcher sorting network, a stack of binary trees, and a bundle of banyan networks. The modular architecture is a unification of the Batcher-banyan switch and the knockout switch, and can be physically realized as an array of three-dimensional parallel processors. Switch modules are interconnected only at the outputs by multiplexers. The partitioned switch fabric provides a flexible distributed architecture, which is the key to simplify the operation and maintenance of the whole switching system. The modularity implies less stringent synchronization requirements and makes higher-speed implementation possible. The proposed modular switch is intended to meet the needs of broadband telephone offices of all sizes. It is estimated that a modular switch with terabit capacity can be built using current VLSI technologies. >

A modular architecture for very large packet switches

Apparatus, and accompanying methods for use therein, for a large (e.g. approximately 1 Terabit/second), fault tolerant packet switch (200), particularly suited for asynchronous mode transfer (ATM) communication, which utilizes cell address look-ahead in conjunction with parallel planes of self-routing cross-points (550), staggered time phased contention resolution and shared memory based input and output modules (260 and 270, respectively). Each incoming packet cell has added thereto an additional header field containing information identifying a particular output module and a particular output port of that module. An input module associated with the switching crosspoints changes the additional header information to identify the particular output module of the next subsequent packet cell.

Packet address look-ahead technique for use in implementing a high speed packet switch

We introduce a new method, called ring reservation, to design high-capacity packet switches. Input buffering is used with output port reservations to eliminate packet collisions. We describe a 32×32 prototype packet switch, built as a part of a broadband ISDN prototype, which has a per-port capacity of 30–55 Mbit/s.

B. Bingham

Papers

Reservation-based contention resolution mechanism for Batcher-Banyan packet switches