TDM Emulation in Packet-Switched Networks

Many network operators offer some type of tiered service, in which users may select only from a small set of service levels (tiers). In this work, we study the problem of designing a tiered-service network that allocates bandwidth in multiples of a basic bandwidth unit. Such a packet-switched network can enjoy many of the benefits, in terms of control and management, of a TDM network, but without the associated data plane rigidities.