A slotted ring copy fabric for a multicast fast packet switch

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) and fast packet switch ing offer the ability to support many diverse forms of telecom munications services across a single integrated network. Some applications require the communications traffic from a single source to be received concurrently by many destinations. One approach to satisfy this requirement is to use a copy fabric to replicate the necessary number, of copies of the incident traffic and then to route each copy to the required destination in a conventional point-to-point ATM fast packet switch. This paper presents the design and performance ofa copy fabric based upon a slotted ring that permits a very simple implementation. It offers a performance which for many applications is comparable to that of much more complex designs.