An output queueing analysis of multipath ATM switches

The performance of output buffers in multipath ATM switches is closely related to the output traffic distribution, which characterizes the packet arrival rate at each output link connected to the output buffer of a given output port. Many multipath switches produce nonuniform output traffic distributions even if the input traffic patterns are uniform. Focusing on the nonuniform output traffic distribution, we analyze the output buffer performances of several multipath switches under both uniform and nonuniform input traffic patterns. It is shown that the output traffic distributions are different for the various multipath switches and the output buffer performance measured in terms of packet loss probability and mean waiting time improves as the nonuniformity of the output traffic distribution becomes higher.