Switching integrated broadband services by sort-banyan networks

Substantial attention has recently been given to the implementation of sort-banyan networks for switching asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) transmission links in a BISDN (broadband integrated service digital network) network. The author gives a three-dimensional view of the theory and implementation of switching, as well as variations of the basic scheme. ATM switches are classified as blocking versus nonblocking, unicast versus multicast, and input queued versus output queued. Sorting networks structured by a three-dimensional interconnection topology are studied. A sorting network, when coupled with a banyan routing network structured in three dimensions, becomes a self-routing and nonblocking switching network. This three-dimensional topology allows CMOS VLSI implementations of the subnetworks and interconnection of these subnetworks at a speed of 150 Mb/s and beyond. The sorting mechanism can also be used for output conflict resolution, subsequently making the switch suitable for ATM switching. Recent enhancements, which provide features such as parallelism, trunk grouping, and modularity, are also described. These features enhance the throughput/delay performance, provide better fault and synchronization tolerance, and enable more economical growth for switch size. >