Operating system design considerations for the packet-switching environment

One of the striking developments in computing and communication technology during the past decade is reflected in the evolution of packet-switching computer networks. Packet-switching communication techniques allow dynamic allocation of a set of communication resources (circuits) so that they may be flexibly shared among a number of autonomous processors. Implementation of such packet-switching networks has required many design decisions, such as the choice of network topology, routing strategies, and the establishment of conventions, or protocols, for information interchange between network resources.