Isochronets: a high-speed network switching architecture

An overview is given of a switching architecture for high-speed networks called Isochronets, which time-divide network bandwidth among routing trees. Traffic moves down a routing tree to the root during its time band. Network functions such as routing and flow control are entirely governed by band timers and require no processing of frame header bits. Frame motions need not be delayed for switch processing, allowing Isochronets to scale over a large spectrum of transmission speeds and support all-optical implementations. The network functions as a media-access layer that can support multiple framing protocols simultaneously, handled by higher layers at the periphery. Internetworking is reduced to a simple media-layer bridging. Isochronets provide flexible quality of service control and multicasting though allocation of bands to routing trees. They can be tuned to span a spectrum of performance behaviors outperforming both circuit and packet switching