From "The GIGAswitch System: A High-Performance Packet Switching Platform". Robert J. Souza et al (7 listed authors) Digital Technical Journal, vol. 6, no. 1 1994. The switch fabric is a non-blocking crossbar capable of full 100 Mbps full duplex rates (actually, about 150 Mbps: a 25 Mhz clock with a 6 bit data path). Custom VLSI. The FDDI cards have 1 MB/port that (i believe) is used for packet buffering. Both input and output buffering is required. Cut through forwarding is supported. Bottom line: about 270,000 pps per port, 14 microsec. forwarding latency AND superior reliability. The choice for NAP designers everywhere :)- -- Bilal
While we are on the subject of delay-bandwidth buffering in ATM switches. Does anyone know where I can get a router that has adequate buffering for those pesky little 1/4 Kbyte average size packets that keep floating around the net :).
-joe
PS. Also does someone have numbers for the amount of buffering in a DEC gigaswitch, and information on their buffer managment (i.e. variable length buffers vs fixed length buffers).