Practical multi-terabit electronic packet switches

Although the current focus is on smaller switches, it is still relevant to understand their evolution path to multi-terabit capacities. In particular, it is interesting to see how their QoS and multicasting features can scale as their size increases, and at which point performance compromises may be necessary for the sake of size. In this talk, we review existing switch architectures and their commercial embodiments, and extrapolate their evolution to larger sizes. A pressing issue in going beyond the terabit barrier is the physical arrangement of the system, and specifically the interconnection of line cards residing in multiple chassis. In this respect, we look for the limits of pure electronic-based solutions, and discuss the relevance of hybrid electro-optical switching systems.