The statistical data fork: a class of broad-band multichannel switches

The circuit switching concept of trunk grouping has been introduced into the broadband packet switch. This trunk grouping concept exploits the very high bandwidth offered by lightwave technology with electronic switching technology operating at substantially slower speeds. A key component of this concept is the multichannel switch, which is a device capable of supporting routing requirements at the trunk group level. The statistical data fork (SDF), which is a multichannel switch enjoying an extremely simple control structure, is introduced here. It is based on the concepts of deflection routing and error correcting codes. It is shown that by properly designing the SDF, an extremely reliable and fault tolerant broadband switch can be obtained