B-ISDN networking using group virtual paths

A bandwidth sharing scheme called the group virtual path (GVP) is presented. The effects of statistical multiplexing with this scheme are evaluated at the cell transfer level and at the call handling level by employing such parameters as burstiness of traffic source and number of multiplexed virtual paths (VPs). The GVP is then applied to broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN) networking. With a two-stage wide area network as an example, GVP is shown to be applicable to both long-line transit networks and local transit networks. It greatly reduces the required transmission capacity and the cell handling capacity of the switching system. The GVP is especially advantageous for rather small-sized networks with bursty traffic.