| Abstract | Multistage Interconnection Networks (MINs) are frequently used for connecting processors in parallel computing systems or constructing high speed networks such as ATM (based on Asynchronous Transfer Mode) and Gigabit Ethernet Switches. New applications require distributed computing implementations, but old networks are too slow to allow efficient use of remote resources. Moreover, multimedia are considered as applications with high bandwidth requirements. Some of them are also sensitive to packet loss and claim reliable data transmission. Specific applications require bulk data transfers for database replication or load balancing and therefore packet loss minimization is necessary in order to increase the performance of them. The demand for high performance multimedia services such as full motion video on demand is becoming an increasingly important driving force in the communication market in the Digital Age. Thus, the performance of MINs is a crucial factor, which we have to take into account in the design of new applications. Their performance is mainly determined by their communication throughput and cell latency, which have to be investigated either by time-consuming simulations or approximated by mathematical models. In this paper we investigate the performance of MINs in order to determine optimal values for hardware parameters under diferent operating conditions. |
