Staged circuit switching for network computers

Conference · Tue Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1983 · Comput. Commun. Rev.; (United States)

OSTI ID:5249140

Arango, M; Gelernter, D; Badr, H; Bernstein, A J

Staged cricuit switching (SCS) is a message-switching technique which combines a new protocol with new communication hardware. Protocol and hardware are designed specifically for networks which are intended to function as integrated, general-purpose MIMD machines, i.e. for network computers. The SCS protocol is a form of circuit switching which degrades automatically into packet switching when unavailable output lines make further extension of a partial circuit impossible. The SCS hardware uses a front-end crossbar switch to multiplex some small number of communication channels among all of a given node's incident links. Together, hardware and protocol represent an attempt to convert spare bandwidth into lower network delays. They also allow experimentation with networks which reconfigure themselves dynamically in response to measured traffic patterns. SCS is compared with packet switching, circuit switching and the virtual cut-through protocol of P. Kermani and L.Kleinrock (see Comput. Networks, vol.3, p.267, 1979, and IEEE Trans. Comput. C-29,12, p.1052, December 1980), and an SCS implementation designed for the SBN network computer is discussed. 23 references.

• Research Organization: State Univ. of New York, Stony Brook
• OSTI ID: 5249140
• Report Number(s): CONF-830302-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Comput. Commun. Rev.; (United States) Journal Volume: 2
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
990200* -- Mathematics & Computers
ARCHITECTURE
COMPUTER NETWORKS
ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT
ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT
EQUIPMENT
MULTIPLEXERS
PARALLEL PROCESSING
PROGRAMMING
SWITCHES