An expandable multicast ATM switch based on copy-trunk with new delay control and cell spacing functions

A multicast ATM switch with a new external copy module is proposed. The copy module, called copy-trunk, has two new functions to guarantee the QoS of P-MP cells: The delay priority control function and the output-cell-spacing control function. By using the delay priority control function, copied cells with high-priority are always released earlier than those with low-priority so as to avoid increasing the delay time of real-time traffic. The output-cell-spacing control function is used to reduce the burstiness of the output traffic. The output pattern is adaptively controlled by measuring the input load. The effects of these two controls are quantitatively described. The copy-trunk allows the multicast capability of a switch to be efficiently and economically increased to satisfy future traffic volume and services.