Effect of multiplexed sub-ATM rate inter-LAN traffic on input queueing ATM switches

The effects of mixed sub-ATM rate inter-LAN traffic on the performance of input queueing ATM switches are studied. Although ATM technology is recommended for B-ISDN, immediate applications of ATM switches are believed to be in inter-LAN switching. Thus a method of analyzing input queueing ATM switches loaded with such traffic is developed. The switch is represented as a Markov chain where the size of the state space is proportional to buffer depth, independent of switch size, making the approach feasible for large switches. The queue distribution is solved iteratively by choosing an arbitrary queue service distribution initially and solving the queue and service distributions alternately until their convergence. The procedure is also applicable to shared input queueing switches, requiring only the added translation of the bursty characteristics of the arriving cells. Our study shows that the burst length can be substantially reduced by using the queue sharing discipline. Extensive simulation results for both dedicated and shared input queues verify the accuracy of the analysis