Blazenet: A Phototonic Implementable Wide-Area Network
Zygmunt J. Haas, David R. Cheriton · 1987
Abstract : High-performance wide-area networks are required to interconnect clusters of computers connected by local and metropolitan area networks. Optical fiber technology provides long distance channel in the multi-gigabit per second range. The challenge is to provide switching nodes that handle these data rates with minimum delay, and at a reasonable cost. In this paper, we describe a packet switching network, christened 'Blazenet,' that provides low delay and has minimal memory requirements. It can be extended to support multicast and priority delivery. Such a network can revolutionize the opportunities for distributed command and control, information and resources sharing, real-time conferencing, to mention but a few applications.