Implementation of a parallel transport subsystem on a multiprocessor architecture

Requirements of emerging applications together with rapid changes in networking technology towards gigabit speeds require new adequate transport systems. Integrated designs of transport services, protocol architecture, and implementation platforms are needed for the requirements of forthcoming applications in high-speed network environments. The transport subsystem PATROCLOS (Parallel Transport subsystem for cell based high speed networks) is designed with special emphasis on a high degree of inherent parallelism to allow efficient implementations on multiprocessor architectures combined with specialised hardware for very time critical functions. The paper presents transport system design guidelines based on experiences gained with parallel implementations of transport and network layer protocols on transputer networks, an implementation architecture for PATROCLOS based on transputer networks and results of a performance evaluation, which indicate promising throughput values