Multirate non-blocking generalized three-stage Clos switching networks

This paper studies the non-blocking switching operation of generalized three-stage Clos (1953) switching networks in the multirate environment. The analysis presented determines the minimum number of the second-stage switches required for strictly non-blocking operation of such networks at call setup. Both the discrete and the continuous bandwidth cases are considered. For the discrete bandwidth case, sufficient and necessary conditions are derived. For the continuous bandwidth case, only sufficient conditions are given, which, in some cases, also constitute necessary conditions. The results given are, in some cases, generalizations of existing results, but they also include new results.