Intelligent interconnect-combined circuit and packet switch

The Intelligent Interconnect (IIC) provides a high-bandwidth fault tolerant communications fabric and UNIX5®¹ based multi-processor framework for distributed applications. It has been developed by the AT&T Government Systems Division as a specialized communication product to meet the needs of military and federal government agencies. An early version of the system is currently being used to develop communication software for a distributed processing application. Up to 240 Mbps of total bandwidth can be allocated on a fixed (deterministic) circuit switched basis, or shared dynamically (statistically) among contending applications using packet mode access. Standard line interface and processor circuit packs allow a variety of user devices (terminals, workstations, hosts, etc.) to access the Interconnect, as well as providing embedded communications and data processing functions. High availability is assured by replicating all components in the communications fabric. Together, these loosely coupled processors form a flexible, efficient, and reliable distributed processing network.