The DTM Protocol— Design and Implementation

The evolution of fiber optics has made it possible to build high speed communication systems, gigabit (per second) networks. Gigabit networks have enough capacity to integrate traffic from several applications, such as video, audio and computer traffic, into one network. Techniques for gigabit networks, such as packet, cell and circuit switching, have been evaluated at different gigabit testbeds. The DTM project presents a protocol based on fast circuit switching as an inexpensive, scalable and efficient alternative to the above mentioned techniques. The DTM protocol suite is designed for integrated high speed communication. DTM provides a service where resources are reserved in advance, with guaranteed bandwidth and constant delay. The service given by the protocol is multicast which is argued to be important when integrating several services into one network. The capacity of the network may be reallocated between the nodes according to their demand. The DTM network uses a distributed switching approach to reduce the complexity of each switch. This thesis describes problems associated with high-speed networks, the considerations made when designing the DTM protocol suite and a description of a DTM network prototype.