Traffic classification for round-robin scheduling schemes in ATM networks

An asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switch mode at which cell arrive from a diverse set of source types is considered. To improve the utilization of network resources and facilitate management and control, source types are organized into traffic classes. Cells belonging to different traffic classes are transported by separate virtual paths though the network. Approximations for the quality of service that should be maintained for each traffic class are developed. Approximations are then developed for estimating the bandwidth and buffer requirements of each traffic class and also for the switch node. The problem of assigning weights, given a set of traffic classes, is addressed. The set of traffic classes that require the least amount of resources is determined. The closely related problem of minimizing the number of traffic classes given a finite bandwidth is also discussed. The structure of the problem at hand is then exploited to develop an efficient heuristic