Performance comparison of two input access methods for a multicast switch

A comparison of the performance of two input access mechanisms for multicast switching is presented. The first of these-a cyclic priority input access method-is a derivative of the ring token reservation method which eliminates the unfairness of the ordinary ring token reservation. It has the advantage of being relatively simple and easy to implement. A second approach employs a neural network to resolve output port conflict. While more difficult to implement, it has a delay-throughput performance advantage over the cyclic priority approach. The primary performance measurements are the switch throughput and the packet delay. A key assumption is that all copies of the same packet must be switched in the same slot