Throughput Considerations in a Multi-Processor Packet-Switching Node

The prime objective of the present paper is to analyze the throughput characteristics of a multi-processor configuration for packet switching-suggested in the context of an integrated network for circuit and packet switching-and to identify the major parameters on which it depends. The results provide a fundamental insight into how the most relevant system and traffic parameters determine throughput as a function of the number of packet-handling modules. In particular, it is shown that the proposed partitioning of the packet-handling function does indeed permit high throughput before saturation is encountered.