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© copyright University of Crete, Greece.
Dept. of Computer Science, University of Crete.
CS-534: Packet Switch Architecture

0. Course Overview


This course lies in between "hardware" and "networks". It deals with the architecture of packet switches and routers --the building blocks of modern high-speed networks. A significant part of this course is analogous to "computer architecture" (CS-425): we study the organization of the digital circuits that are used to implement switches, their interaction with software and with the messages that they route, their alternative architectures and the cost of each of them. We consider, in as unified a way as possible, the structure of the active parts of SAN, LAN, MAN, WAN networks, of the Internet, of digital telephony networks, and of multiprocessor interconnection networks, bringing out their common basis behind the apparently dissimilar communication technology of each. Note, though, that we only study networks consisting of unidirectional, point-to-point links; we do not study any shared medium networks.

Course Content:


Point-to-point links and switches

Output contention, buffering

Switch Architectures

Fabric topologies, flow control, scheduling


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© copyright University of Crete, Greece.
Last updated: February 2000, by M. Katevenis.