COMMUNICATION SYSTEM REVIEW

CIRCUIT SWITCHING

The N2 Problem

For N users to be fully connected directly Requires N(N 1)/2 connections Requires too much space for cables Inefficient & costly since connections not always on
1

N = 1000 N(N 1)/2 = 499500

N 2

Circuit Switching

Patchcord panel switch invented in 1877 Operators connect users on demand

Establish circuit to allow electrical current to flow from inlet to outlet

Only N connections required to central office

N 1

N1 3 2

Manual Switching

Switch Network

A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called switches. Switches are hardware and/or software devices capable of creating temporary connections between two or more devices linked to the switch but not to each other. Methods of switching

Circuit switching, packet switching, and message switching

5

Circuit Switch

Circuit switching creates a direct physical connection between two devices such as phones or computers. We can use switches to reduce the number and length of links.

A Circuit Switch

A circuit switch is a device with n inputs and m outputs that creates a temporary connection between an input link and an output link. The number of inputs does not have to match the number of outputs.

A Folded Switch

An n-by-n folded switch can connect n lines in full-duplex mode. For example, it can connect n telephones in such a way that each phone can be connected to every other phone. Circuit switching uses space-division switch [paths in the circuit are separated from each other spatially] or timedivision switch.

Circuit Switch Types

Space-Division switches

Provide separate physical connection between inputs and outputs Crossbar switches Multistage switches Time-slot interchange technique Time-space-time switches

Time-Division switches

Hybrids combine Time & Space switching

Space Division Switch

Paths in the circuit are separated from each other spatially. Crossbar Switch Crossbar switch connects n inputs to m outputs in a grid, using electronic micro-switches (transistors) at each crosspoint. Limitation is the number of cross-points required

10

Multistage Switch

Multistage switch combines crossbar switches in several stages. Design of a multistage switch depends on the number of stages and the number of switches required (or desired) in each stage. Normally, the middle stages have fewer switches than do the first and last stages.

11

Multiple Switching Paths

Multiple paths are available in multistage switches. Blocking refers to times when two inputs are looking for the same output. The output port is blocked.

12

Multistage Space Switch

Large switch built from multiple stages of small switches The n inputs to a first-stage switch share k paths through intermediate crossbar switches Larger k (more intermediate switches) means more paths to output In 1950s, Clos asked, How many intermediate switches required to make switch nonblocking?
2(N/n)nk + k (N/n)2 crosspoints
nk
1

N/n N/n
1

kn
1

N inputs

nk
2

kn N/n N/n
2 2

nk
3

kn

nk
N/n

kn N/n N/n
k N/n

Clos Non-Blocking Condition: k=2n-1

Request connection from last input to input switch j to last output in output switch m Worst Case: All other inputs have seized top n-1 middle switches AND all other outputs have seized next n-1 middle switches If k=2n-1, there is another path left to connect desired input to desired output

N outputs

Clos Non-Blocking Condition: k=2n-1

nxk
1

N/n x N/n
1

kxn
1

Desired input

nxk
j

n-1 busy

N/n x N/n n-1 N/n x N/n n+1 N/n x N/n 2n-2 n-1 busy

kxn
m

Desired output
# internal links = 2x # external links

nxk
N/n

N/n Free path N/n2x n-1

Free path

kxn
N/n

Minimum Complexity Clos Switch

C(n) = number of crosspoints in Clos switch = 2Nk + k( N )2 = 2N(2n 1)+(2n 1)( N )2 n n Differentiate with respect to n:
2 2 2N2 ==> n N 0 = dC = 4N 2N + 2N 4 N 2 dn n3 n2 n2

The minimized number of crosspoints is then:

N2 N 1/2 C* = (2N + )(2( ) 1) 4N 2N = 4 2 N/2

2N1.5

This is lower than N2 for large N

Example: Clos Switch Design

Circa 2002, Mindspeed offered a Crossbar chip with the following specs: 144 inputs x 144 outputs, 3.125 Gbps/line Aggregate Crossbar chip throughput: 450 Gbps Clos Nonblocking Design for 1152x1152 switch N=1152, n=8, k=16 N/n=144 8x16 switches in first stage 16 144x144 in centre stage 144 16x8 in third stage Aggregate Throughput: 3.6 Tbps!

8x16 1 8x16 2 8x16 3

144144
1

16x8
1

1152 outputs

16x8

1152 inputs

144x144
2

16x8
3

8x16 144

16x8

144x144
16

Note: the 144x144 crossbar can be partitioned into multiple smaller switches

Time Division Switch

Time-division switching uses time-division multiplexing to achieve switching. Two methods used are:

Time-slot interchange (TSI) changes the order of the slots based on the desired connection. TDM bus

N/n

Time-Slot Interchange (TSI)

TSI consists of random access memory (RAM) with several memory locations. The size of each location is the same as the size of a single time slot. The number of locations is the same as the number of inputs. The RAM fills up with incoming data from time slots in the order received. Slots are then sent out in an order based on the decisions of a control unit.

19

Time-Slot Interchange (TSI) Switching

Write bytes from arriving TDM stream into memory Read bytes in permuted order into outgoing TDM stream Max # slots = 125 msec / (2 x memory cycle time)
1 2 3 a b

d 24

c 23

b 2

a 1

Read slots according to connection permutation

Incoming

TDM stream

Write 22 slots in order of 23 arrival

b 24

a 23

d 2

c 1

c d

Outgoing

24

TDM stream

Time-slot interchange

10

TDM Bus

Input and output lines are connected to a high-speed bus through input and output gates (microswitches) Each input gate is closed during one of the four slots. During the same time slot, only one output gate is also closed. This pair of gates allows a burst of data to be transferred from one specific input line to one specific output line using the bus. The control unit opens and closes the gates according to switching need.

21

Comparison of SDM and TDM

SDM

Advantage:

Instantaneous. Number of cross points required.

Disadvantage:

TDM

Advantage:

No cross points. Processing delay.

22

Disadvantage:

11

TST Switch

Combine Space division and time division switching. This results in switches that are optimized both physically (the number of crosspoints) and temporally (the amount of delay). Various types are: time-space-time (TST), time-space-spacetime (TSST), space-time-time-space (STTS), etc.

23

Time-Space-Time Hybrid Switch

Use TSI in first & third stage; Use crossbar in middle Replace n input x k output space switch by TSI switch that takes n-slot input frame and switches it to k-slot output frame
nxk
1

N/n x N/n
1

kxn
1

nxk N inputs
2

nxk
3

Input TDM frame with n slots n 2 1

1 2

Output TDM frame with k slots k 2 1

nxk
N/n

n Time-slot interchange

12

Flow of time slots between switches

First slot nk
1

First slot N/n N/n

1

kn
1

nk
2

kn N/n N/n
2 2

nk
N/n

kn N/n N/n kth slot

k N/n

kth slot

Only one space switch active in each time slot

Time-Share the Crossbar Switch

TSI stage
TDM n slots n slots

Space stage
TDM k slots TDM k slots

TSI stage kxn

1

nxk
1

nxk
2

kxn N/n x N/n Time-shared space switch

2

kxn
3

N inputs

n slots

nxk
3

N outputs

n slots

nxk
N/n

kxn
N/n

Interconnection pattern of space switch is reconfigured every time slot Very compact design: fewer lines because of TDM & less space because of time-shared crossbar

13

Example: A3, B4, C1, D3

(a) A B
3-stage

C A

Space Switch C D D B

(b)
B2 A2 B1 A1
Equivalent

2x3
1

B1 A1

C1 A1

3x2
1

A1 C1

TST Switch
D2 C2 D1 C1 D1 C1 D1 B1

2x3
2

3x2
2

B1 D1

Example: T-S-T Switch Design

For N = 960 Single stage space switch ~ 1 million crosspoints T-S-T

Let n = 120 N/n = 8 TSIs k = 2n 1 = 239 for non-blocking Pick k = 240 time slots Need 8x8 time-multiplexed space switch

For N = 96,000 T-S-T

Let n = 120 k = 239 N / n = 800 Need 800x800 space switch

14