Performance study of an input queueing packet switch with two priority classes

An N*N nonblocking packet switch with input queues and two priority classes that can be used to support traffic with different requirements is described. The switch operation is slotted and, at each time slot, fixed-size packets arrive at the inputs with distinct Bernoulli distributions for both the high- and low-priority classes. Two policies are discussed. In the first policy, packets of both priority classes are queued when waiting for service. In the second policy, only low-priority packets are queued, and high-priority packets not delivered at the first attempt are dropped from the system. Under both policies, high-priority packets prevail over low-priority packets at the inputs as well as the outputs. An approximate analysis that is based on independence assumptions and uses an equivalent queueing system to estimate the service capability seen be each input is presented. Using this approach, an expression for the input queue length distribution is obtained. The maximum system throughput is derived and shown to exceed that of a single priority switch. Numerical results are compared to simulations and are found to agree.>