A multi-level WDM access protocol for an optically interconnectedparallel computer

摘要

Scalable, hierarchical, all-optical, WDM networks for processorinterconnection have been previously considered. The paper introduces anaccess protocol for this type of network which supports a distributedshared memory environment. The objectives of the protocol are reducedaverage latency per packet, support of broadcast multicast,collisionless communication, and the exploitation of the inherentdistributed shared memory traffic characteristics. A hybrid strategy, interms of channel reservation, is described that trades maximum capacityfor reduced communication latency to improve system response. Theperformance of the protocol is analyzed through analytic and simulationmodels with varying system parameters such as number of nodes andchannels. The performance of the new protocol is compared to a TDM-basedprotocol and their relative merits and demerits are examined