A multi-queue flexible buffer manager architecture

Managing buffer resources is a way of increasing network performance in a high speed communication network. Sharing, a method of managing buffer resources, can be performed in a number of ways. Each sharing method has inherent advantages coupled with inherent disadvantages in terms of blocking probability, utilization, throughput, and delay. A buffer manager that can manage buffer resources in different ways, rather than one, is ideal for the wide range of uses envisioned for broadband packet switched networks. With this objective, the authors propose a programmable (flexible) buffer manager