Abstract: An output-buffered packet switch with priority packet transmission and a flexible buffer management scheme is disclosed. The switch consists of a sorting network at the input, a nonblocking routing network at the output, and multiple modules of column-fill networks together with the storage elements connected in series to provide a novel buffer management scheme. Each module provides one dedicated buffer for each output port, except the last module where the storage is shared by all the outputs. The combination of dedicated and shared buffering gives high performance for a wide range of traffic conditions. The switch is expandable in the sense that its performance can be enhanced by simply adding more modules. The switch design is distributed and has self-routing capabilities, so it can operate at very high data rates. The output-buffered packet switch can be used to implement a centralized control for another packet switch of higher speed but same functionality.

Abstract: An output-buffered packet switch with priority packet transmission and a flexible buffer management scheme is disclosed. The switch consists of a sorting network at the input, a nonblocking routing network at the output, and multiple modules of column-fill networks together with the storage elements connected in series to provide a novel buffer management scheme. Each module provides one dedicated buffer for each output port, except the last module where the storage is shared by all the outputs. The combination of dedicated and shared suffering gives high performance for a wide range of traffic conditions. The switch is expandable in the sense that its performance can be enhanced by simply adding more modules. The switch design is distributed and has self-routing capabilities, so it can operate at very high data rates. The output-buffered packet switch can be used to implement a centralized control for another packet switch of higher speed but same functionality.

Abstract: An output-buffered packet switch with priority packet transmission and a flexible buffer management scheme is disclosed. The switch consists of a sorting network at the input, a nonblocking routing network at the output, and multiple modules of column-fill networks together with the storage elements connected in series to provide a novel buffer management scheme. Each module provides one dedicated buffer for each output port, except the last module where the storage is shared by all the outputs. The combination of dedicated and shared buffering gives high performance for a wide range of traffic conditions. The switch is expandable in the sense that its performance can be enhanced by simply adding more modules. The switch design is distributed and has self-routing capabilities, so it can operate at very high data rates. The output-buffered packet switch can be used to implement a centralized control for another packet switch of higher speed but same functionality.