Load Balancing on Multi-Link ATM Network

Abstract

The purpose of this research project is to explore several possible solutions for the load balancing problem of multi-trunk ATM networks. In this paper, we will examine three different methods to balance the load of a multi-trunk ATM network, and these three methods include sender initiated load balancing, receiver initiated load balancing, and a hybrid of both methods. As part of this paper, we will present a hardware implementation to realize the load balancing mechanism, and we will also include a comparison of the expected performance improvements of different load balancing schemes using software simulation. The comparison of performance gain will be based on three factors. These factors are cell drop ratio, packet delivery time variance, and link utilization.